Runaway
by PirateJenna
Summary: After Danny's parents discover his secret, Danny decides to runaway until they've come to terms with it. Unfortunately, Danny has no way of knowing when he can return.
1. Saying Goodbye

**So, I've never really been a fan of the way Danny Phantom ended. I always thought it was kind of weird that just because his parents knew, Danny decided to reveal his secret to the whole world. Well, whatever. This story assumes that Phantom Planet never happened. I hope you enjoy!**

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><p>Danny walked quietly down the hall, glancing anxiously at everything he passed. He knew it was ridiculous to worry at the moment, he was invisible after all, but he couldn't help worrying that his mom or dad would jump out at any moment and attack him with some sort of ghost fighting device. He didn't know what had gone wrong. He didn't know what had happened at all, actually. All he remembered was walking up as Danny Fenton, and Jazz telling him to run.<p>

He paused outside his room. _Relax_, he told himself. _There is no way they beat you home._ Still, he couldn't help feeling a sense of relief when he opened the door and saw that the room was empty. He walked to his closet and sighed. He really wished that this wasn't what Jazz had meant, but he knew his sister better than that. He couldn't imagine a worse prison than this house would become if he stayed. He chuckled a little to himself as he grabbed a duffle bag from the top shelf, _Walker got his wish after all. His prison does seem like an improvement._ He stuffed some clothes in the bag along with all the money he had, which wasn't much. _At least Walker doesn't want to dissect me, or tear me apart "molecule by molecule". _He walked to the door and turned around to take one last look at his room. He knew he was pressed for time, but it was surprisingly difficult to leave. _I'll be back, _he promised himself.

Again, forgoing his limited time, he decided to leave a note for Jazz in one of her psychology books. He knew this was what she had intended when she told him to run, but he wanted her to know what his plan was. As he walked back down the stairs, he realized that he should have emailed or IM-ed Tucker and Sam from his computer. But then again, that could be tracked and read. Maybe he could leave them each physical notes, like he did for Jazz. He wasn't even sure if they knew anything was wrong. As he put some food into his bag, he tried to remember what had happened. He was fighting Vlad. He was losing, or at least he had thought he was. He had decided to use his ghostly wail, even though he knew it took a lot out of him. Not surprisingly, he had passed out shortly after. His guess was that, after passing out, as he usually did, he had transformed back to Danny Fenton. Except, for some reason, he parents had seen. He had seen the RV as he flew away, and Vlad had vanished.

He always knew that at some point, his parents would probably find out. He regretted not telling them sooner. If he had told them, it would have been their son informing them that he was half ghost. But this. He knew they might come to the correct conclusion, but, and he shuddered at the thought, there were millions of other possible assumptions they could make. And all of them boiled down to one basic assumption: Danny Phantom had done something to Danny Fenton. Maybe Phantom was posing as Danny. Maybe he was overshadowing Danny. The list could go on and on. And honestly, there had been times, even more often after Danny had met his future evil self, that he had wondered the same things himself. He had often questioned if the accident hadn't, in fact, killed Danny Fenton. That Danny Phantom was just pretending to be Danny Fenton. Even now, these thoughts bombarded him. Maybe Danny Phantom really **had** killed Danny Fenton. He shook his head; now was not the time.

He hiked the bag higher on his shoulder, made sure he and the bag were invisible, and passed through the wall and flew into the sky, but not before a tear slipped out. He was a little upset at himself for crying even one tear. But, even though staying could mean certain death, or at the very least, lots of possibly painful experiments, it was still his home. And that wasn't something he could just turn his back on without batting an eye.

He made a quick stop at both Tucker and Sam's houses and left them both notes, again explaining what he was doing and why. But as he flew into the sky, he couldn't help but wonder if this was really his best plan. Sure, he was seventeen, but did that mean he was ready to be on his own. He wondered how many people would recognize him. He would probably have to go pretty far to avoid being identified, maybe not as Danny Phantom, but at least as Danny Fenton, a runaway.

He sighed; he had considered going into the ghost zone. It actually seemed safer than staying here since his parents would have a hard time finding him, if the could even figure out how to get into the ghost zone. He could get a "lair" and wait 'til the heat died down. But, all of his enemies were in the ghost zone. Another thought flashed across his mind, _who's going to protect Amity Park?_ _It's not like ghosts will just stop attacking because I'm gone._ He shook his head to clear his mind; he could worry about that later. Right now he needed to figure out where he was going to stay.

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><p>After flying for a solid two hours, Danny had to take a break. He was pretty sure he had gotten far enough, at least for today. He landed in an alley and transformed. He glanced around the street he now stood on, looking for a hotel. After some searching, he found a small motel that looked fairly inexpensive. He checked in, hoping they wouldn't ask any questions about a seventeen year old boy with a duffle bag and a handful of cash checking in alone. Fortunately, Danny had grown taller and his voice had gotten a bit deeper. He hoped he looked enough like an adult. The man behind the desk didn't seem to be suspicious, so for now he was safe.<p>

He shivered a bit when he entered his room. It wasn't filthy, but it certainly didn't feel clean. He couldn't help wondering if the sheets had been changed since the last guest. He laughed at himself; he usually wouldn't care about that, but after all, he was on his own. He would have to attack more mature. Still, he was worn out from flying for so long and remaining invisible the entire time. He locked the door, dropped his bag on the floor, and collapsed on the bed. He didn't even bother getting under the covers. He was too tired to care. _I hope Sam, Tucker, and Jazz are ok._


	2. On the Down Low

**Wow, thank you guys so much for the reviews. I'm glad y'all are enjoying my story so much. These first few chapters may come out a little fast. I'll try not to slack off too much. Enjoy!**

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><p>Jazz felt her heart break as she watched Danny turn invisible and take off for home. She felt like curling up and crying, but she knew Danny needed her to stall as long as she could. Should she pretend that she was just as surprised? Should she try and convince their parents that they had been tricked? That it hadn't been Danny? She didn't know. She wasn't sure she was up to grade A acting right now, but Danny needed her. Honestly, after three years of this, she would have thought it would be easier. But then again, they hadn't ever <strong>really<strong> suspected Danny of being Danny Phantom. But now? How could she possibly convince them that he wasn't when they had seen him transform before their eyes? So, despite it being very childish in her opinion, especially for a nineteen year old, she ran. Sure, that was exactly what she had told Danny to do, but his life was possibly at stake. Still, she didn't have the energy to lie.

She dashed to the parking lot where her car was parked and jumped inside. She wasn't sure where to go. But wherever it was, she just hoped her parents would follow her. Fortunately, having to choose between following an invisible target or a visible one, her parents decided to follow her. She drove around town, trying to seem like she was going somewhere, but she didn't know where to go. How would she know when Danny was gone? She glanced at the clock in her car and decided she would just have to trust his common sense and assume that he would be gone by the time thirty minutes had elapsed. By the time seventeen minutes had passed though, Jazz couldn't stand waiting any longer and headed home. _Thank goodness traffic is so bad_, she muttered to herself as the traffic ate up another fifteen minutes. When she arrived home, she dashed inside and shouted, "Danny! Mom and Dad are here!" She felt both sorrow and relief when no reply came. He was already gone; he was safe. But he was gone; she wouldn't get to say good bye.

Her parents burst in shortly after, but Jazz was already at the top of the stairs. She went to her room and shut the door. She knew a torrent of questions would follow soon, but thankfully her parents were more interested in searching the house at the moment. She sat down at her desk and looked down at her psychology books. Despite the circumstances, she couldn't help reaching for the top book. She wondered if any of her books dealt with the effects of having your parents out to get you.

As she opened the book, a folded piece of paper fell out from between two pages. Jazz put the book down and opened the note. Tears filled her eyes as she read the note. A smile crossed her face. She read through the note several times before she put it down. Then, realizing her parents could burst in at any moment, she carefully hid the note inside one of her binders of old school research papers.

She walked over to the window, tears still in her eyes. "Be careful out there, little brother," she whispered.

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><p>Sam leaned back in her chair. She had been on the computer for nearly three hours now. She looked over at her clock. It was well past midnight. Yet, she couldn't possibly even consider going to bed. Not when Danny was out there, running for his life. She sighed and reached for the keyboard again.<p>

_Anything?_

_Nothing. I don't think anyone managed to get any video of it._

_Well, there's at least one good thing._

Sam sighed again. She and Tucker had been IM-ing the entire time she had been online. Both of them had searched high and low, but no one seemed to have caught Danny's transformation. No one except his parents. Even though they clearly cared about whether any one else had seen, their main objective had been to try and find anything that would tell them where Danny was now. A clue he had left them, an email, a message, anything. But, so far, they had nothing.

Sam glanced at her phone. She had already considered texting or calling Danny, but every time, she had come to the same conclusion: if she did text or call Danny, and he didn't have his cell, his parents would most likely pick up or read the text. And that would only lead to more trouble. If Danny had his phone and was in a position where he could use it, he would.

Sam's computer dinged, and she looked up.

_You should probably get some sleep. Danny knows how to contact us._

Sam sighed. She knew Tucker was right. She logged off and climbed into her bed. She squeezed her eyes shut, _Please be ok, Danny. Please._

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><p>Danny eyes shot open. For a second, panic grabbed him. <em>Where am I?!<em> Then he remembered. He rolled off the bed onto the floor and just sat there, leaning against the bed. He was scared. _Come on, Danny. Pull it together. You weren't this freaked out yesterday, so why are you now?_ He knew the answer. Everything had happened to fast for him to really process it. He hadn't really had time for it to sink in. Now, reality had dawned on him, along with a horrifying revelation. What if his parents **never** got over it. What if he could never go home. He looked over at his bag, still on the floor. Somehow, when he was packing, this had all felt like a trip, like it was temporary. Like when he was little and broke the lamp in the living room. He had hidden in his closet until his mom had time to cool down.

He leaned forward and put his head in his hands. _What was I thinking. I can't go home. Who knows what they'd do?_ He stood up and grabbed his bag. His heart sank as he realized he didn't have his phone. _Idiot. How are you going to know when you can come home now?_ He kicked the bed angrily. Well, one thing left to do. He grabbed his bag and his room key and headed to the front desk.

"Excuse me, where's the nearest library?"

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><p>Danny felt a little silly going to the library. An airport made more sense; they had pay phones. But, he wasn't sure where the nearest airport was, and he felt like it was more likely for him to recognized in an airport since there would be people there from all over the country. No, a library was safer. He walked in, thankful it was a week day. Most people would be in school or at work. He chuckled to himself as he thought of what reason might be given to explain his absence at school.<p>

He soon found a computer that wasn't on the library's online catalog and quickly opened his email. No new messages. _Why haven't Tucker and Sam contacted me?_ It occurred to him that he never logged out of his email on his laptop. His parents were probably watching to see if he used it. Any email he sent could be read by them. He groaned. IM was fairly easy to track, or so Tucker told him. What could he do?

"Um, mind if I use that when you're done?" a voice asked.

Danny jumped in the chair and spun around, but the words got caught in his throat when he saw who it was.


	3. Out on the Edge

**Wow, I'm putting these first few chapters out fast. Hope you're still enjoying them. Inspiration has just been really great so far. Thank you again so much for all of the feedback. It means a lot. Enjoy!**

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><p>"I don't know what to tell them," Jazz said. She leaned back in her booth at the Nasty Burger. She never really liked to come here, but she needed to get out of the house.<p>

"Have they asked you any questions?" Sam asked.

"Only about a million and a half," Jazz groaned. She had managed to swipe a set of Fenton Phones and was using them to talk to Tucker and Sam, who each had a pair. "I've been pouring over my psychology books, but I can't figure out which answer would calm them done. On the one hand, if I tell them I didn't know, they may stop asking me questions. On the other hand, if I tell them that I did know, that may help them realize that Danny isn't a monster."

"Wait, back up. They think Danny is a monster?" Tucker asked.

"Well, they might. I mean, think about it. Danny didn't tell them. They just saw him transform. They might think that Danny Phantom is posing as their son, and the real Danny is somewhere else, or worse."

"And how would telling them you knew help anything?" Sam asked.

Jazz rolled her eyes even though Sam couldn't see, "If they know that Danny told me, then they would see that he's not evil. If he were an evil ghost, why would he tell me?"

"Well, it's probably best to go with the truth, so if they do find out more, you and Danny won't be in even more trouble."

Jazz nodded sadly, "Yeah, I guess." She stood up, "I probably shouldn't put it off any more. I just wish we knew how to talk to Danny."

"Oh yeah, does he have his phone?" Sam asked.

"No. I saw it in pieces down in the lab. Mom and Dad have been dissecting it."

"What's the point of that?" Tucker asked, "It's not like it can track Danny if he doesn't have it."

"I don't' know," Jazz said. She walked out of the Nasty Burger and started to take the Fenton Phones off when Sam exclaimed, "Wait! We could try and find Dani!"

"Uh, Sam, we **are** trying to find Danny," Jazz said, annoyed that Sam apparently wasn't listening.

"No, not Danny. Danielle, his cousin."

"Danny has a cousin named Danielle? Since when?" Jazz demanded.

"She's not really his cousin," Tucker explained, "She a failed clone of Danny that Vlad tried to make."

"What, Vlad tried to clone Danny?! When-"

"We don't have time for this, Jazz," Sam interrupted, "Basically, Danielle has the same powers Danny does. She might be able to find him, and your parents don't even know she exists."

"But we haven't seen Danielle in a really long time," Tucker put in, "How are we gonna find **her** if we can't find Danny?"

"Well, it can't be harder than finding Danny, and no one is looking for Danielle, so we won't have to be as careful."

"Alright, you two start looking. I'll check Danny's laptop for any clues about where she is. We'll meet in the park at three," Jazz took the Fenton Phones off and stuffed them in her pocket. She wondered why Danny had never mentioned Danielle. Oh well. She could wonder about that later. Right now, she had work to do.

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><p>Danny couldn't help letting out a little laugh at how jumpy he was. The young girl standing in front of him smiled, "Been a while, Couz."<p>

Danny smiled, "Sure has. So, what have you been doing?"

Danielle grinned, "You know, flyin' here, floatin' there," she shrugged, "the usual."

Danny stood up and hugged her, "I really have missed you."

Danielle nodded, "I know." She pulled back from Danny, "So, why are you not in Amity Park?"

Danny ducked his head and rubbed the back of his neck, "I'm sort of, uh, running away."

Danielle raised her eyebrows, "What or who are you running from?"

"Uh, well," Danny stuttered. Danielle gave him a look. Danny sighed, "My parents?" he said, wincing.

Danielle arched an eyebrow, "Are you asking me or telling me?"

Danny playfully punched her arm, "Since when did you get so snarky?"  
>"Psh, please. I've always been like this," Danielle replied, "After all," she gestured at Danny, "I learned from the best." Danny rolled his eyes. "Anyway," Danielle continued, "if you are 'on the run', should we go somewhere more private?"<p>

Danny glanced around, "Maybe. I got a hotel room for the night," he glanced down at his watch, "I have 'til eleven to decide if I want another night."

"Cool, get another night. Mind if I crash there?"

Danny stifled a laugh, "Sure. You got a dollar?"

"Yep, more than one." She playfully shoved Danny's shoulder as they walked out of the library, "But that doesn't mean I'll give it to you."

Danny laughed. It felt good. He hadn't felt this calm for a while. He almost forgot about the giant black cloud over him, almost. But, for now, almost would do.

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><p>Sam rolled her eyes as she walked over to the park bench with a figure in a trench coat, dark sunglasses, and holding a newspaper sat. She sat beside him and smacked the newspaper, "Come on, Tucker. Could you look more suspicious?"<p>

"Excuse me?" A strange man looked up from behind the paper.

Sam jumped up from the bench, her face turning red, "Uh, sorry sir. I thought you were, uh, someone else." Sam hurried away. She spotted Tucker and Jazz by another tree.

"Hey, Sam-"

Sam jabbed her finger in Tucker's face, "Don't! Just, don't!" Tucker held up his hands and backed away. "So," Sam brushed her hair back from her face, "did you find anything, Jazz?"

Jazz glanced between Sam and Tucker before she spoke. "Well," she looked down at the papers in her hands, "I went through all of Danny's ghost files. I found one on Dani Phantom/ Danielle-"

"We know that Dani Phantom and Danielle are the same person," Sam butted in."

Jazz looked up, "Alright." She paused and stared at Sam for a minute. Finally she took a breath and continued, "He had some info on her, but not much." Jazz shuffled through the papers, "So far, I have nothing on where she is or was at any point."

She looked up expectantly at Tucker. Tucker cleared his throat and pulled out his PDA, "Well, I put together a list everything Sam and I know about Dani, which, admittedly, isn't much. We know that she's a clone of Danny, which, from my understanding of the cloning process and what Danny has said about her, means she has the same interests and characteristics as Danny." Tucker turned his PDA around to show Jazz and Sam, "I have pictures of her in her human and ghost forms, but they were taken about three years ago."

Jazz nodded and scribbled some notes on her papers. Sam sighed, "So? This doesn't get us any closer to finding either Danny."

Jazz chewed on the end of her pen, "Well, let's think. What would Danny have done as soon as he left the house?"

Tucker looked up at the sky, thinking for a minute, "He would probably would have flown for as long as he could before he found somewhere to spend the night."

Sam nodded, "Right, and then he would probably hang around at least for a bit the next day to try and figure out a way to contact us."

Jazz was scribbling furiously now, "So, do we have any idea how long Danny can fly?"

Tucker and Sam looked at each other and both shrugged. "After a battle like the one he went through, probably not long," Tucker said.

"But," Sam interjected, "Danny can muster up a good bit of energy when he's pumped up on adrenaline, which he probably was."

Jazz looked up, "Anyone got an estimation?"

Sam shrugged. Tucker punched a bunch of numbers into his PDA, "My best guess is about one and half to two hours."

Jazz raised her eyebrows, "Are you serious? You really think Danny would have flown that long?"

Tucker nodded, "I would guess that he took a few short breaks. And, considering the situation, he probably flew until he felt like he couldn't possibly go any farther."

"Right," Sam nodded, "So, how far could he go in two hours?"

Tucker adjusted his glasses, "Actually, I said one and a half-"

"I know," Sam almost shouted. She took a deep breath, "but his distance in one and a half hours would be inside the distance in two hours."

Tucker muttered to himself, but he didn't argue. Jazz paged through her papers again, "Here, this is a map of Amity Park and the surrounding area." Jazz sat down on the ground and spread the map out. She reached into her bag and pulled out a pencil. Next she took her headband off. "Here's the distance I've estimated Danny can fly in two hours," she pointed at an equation she had scribbled in the margins. She stretched out her headband next to the scale on the map and measured out the correct distance. She then tied the headband to the pencil to match the distance. She put the headband on her finger and put her finger on top of the general location of Fenton Works. She drew a circle around it stretching out her headband and then sat back, "Danny is somewhere on or near the edge of the circle."

Sam's heart sank inside her. The area was huge. By the time they had searched it all, Danny might have moved on to a different place. _Why didn't you tell us where you were going, Danny?_ She knew that he himself probably didn't know at the time, but still. His note had only explained what had happened, that he was leaving, and not to worry. But Sam couldn't help it. She was worried. She looked again at the map. "Where are you, Danny?" she whispered.


	4. Under Pressure

**Again, another quick chapter. I hope no one minds that these early ones are coming out so fast. Oh well, I just get so excited when I finish a chapter. I just have to publish it as soon as possible. So, yay for anyone who gets to read two or three chapters all together! **

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><p>"So," Danielle took a bite out of the hamburger she was holding, "why are you running away?"<p>

Danny sighed as he took a bite of his hamburger. Why was he running? He felt kind of bad that he was running away from his parents. He swallowed, but he could feel the lump in his throat grow, "Well, I was fighting Vlad in the park." He paused, and Danielle nodded for him to go on. Danny sighed, "I got pretty worn out, so, at some point, I guess I passed out and transformed back. My parents saw, so, I took off."

He looked over at Danielle, who seemed to be deep in thought. They walked on in silence for a bit before she spoke, "So, I get that they didn't know, but why would that make you run?"

"Well, let's see," Danny started ticking off the points on his fingers, "They're ghost hunters, they **hate** Danny Phantom, they think he's evil, they want to rip him apart molecule by molecule, need I go on?"

Danielle shook her head, "Alright. So what's your plan? Hang around here forever?" she waved her arms around, gesturing at the town.

Danny looked around. He didn't really have a plan beyond that. It had all been kind of sudden. Danielle looked over at him and put her hand on his shoulder. He smiled at her. At least he could count on her, for now.

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><p>They arrived back at the motel, and Danny paid for another night. They walked into the room, and Danny dropped his bag on the floor and flopped into one of the two chairs. Danielle flopped into the other one and laid her head back, staring at the ceiling. Danny looked over at her. He hadn't seen her in about two years, and the last time had been very brief, but he was surprised by how little she had changed. She still dressed almost exactly the same. Her hair was a bit longer, but it was hard to notice in her ponytail. She was a good deal taller, and her voice was slightly different. She picked her head up and smiled at him. Her attitude certainly hadn't changed. For whatever reason, Danielle seemed to have more of an optimistic attitude than Danny did. Maybe it was because Danny had grown more pessimistic based on his experiences. Danielle had yet to face off against the dark world. Though she had been through some harsh stuff, she still retained a cheery outlook on the world. Danny hoped she wouldn't lose it soon.<p>

Danielle looked around the room, "Have you tried to contact anyone yet?"

Danny shook his head, "No. I forgot my phone, I wouldn't be surprised if Sam, Tucker, and Jazz have their phones bugged, so it doesn't really matter. I'm logged into my email on my laptop at home, so my parents can read any emails I send or receive." Danny pushed his hand through his hair, "I guess I could send them a letter," he joked, but there was no humor in his voice.

Danielle let out a fake laugh, "True. But those can be traced too." They sat in silence for a minute, both of them lost in thought. Finally, Danielle said, "So, is the only problem with using the motel phone that your parents would recognize your voice?"

Danny gave her a puzzled look, "Yeah, I guess."

Danielle smiled, "Well then, what if it wasn't your voice?"

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><p>"Come on, Mom. This is ridiculous," Jazz whined.<p>

"Now, Sweety. I just have a few more questions."

Jazz rolled her eyes. _Yeah right. A few more questions, and then a billion more after that. _

"Now," Maddie looked down at her clipboard, "Did you know that Danny was, well-"

"For the last time, Danny is half ghost!" Jazz shouted and threw her hands up in frustration. Why couldn't her parents just say it. Why were they trying to avoid stating it the way it was?

"Yes, that. Did you know?"

Jazz leaned forward and rubbed her forehead, "Yes, ok. I knew." It did feel good to finally say it, to stop lying to her parents. Jazz felt a sense of relief, like a burden had been lifted, but it was only temporary.

"How long have you known?"

Jazz swallowed hard. _This is going to crush Mom._ "Uh, about, a year, or two, or three..."

Maddie's head snapped up, "Three years?!" Jazz bit her lip. Maddie took a deep breath before moving on to the next question, "When exactly did 'this' start?"

Jazz paused, didn't they know about the accident? Sure, Danny had hidden his powers, but the actual accident, Danny being knocked unconscious, would be hard to miss. Apparently not. "About three years ago."

"Wait," Maddie held up her hand, "You've know the whole time? And you didn't tell us?"

_Well, the cat's out of the bag already. Might as well tell her everything. _"I haven't known the whole time. There was an accident one day. Danny went inside the ghost portal and it turned on while he was inside. At some point after that, I saw Danny transform, but I didn't tell him until a while later, and he was the one who came and talked to me about it. He wanted to tell you guys, but, I mean, come on. You're constantly trying to catch ghosts. Dad wants to 'rip them apart, molecule by molecule', and you want to dissect them. Why would you expect him, after all that, to be comfortable telling you that he's half ghost?!" Jazz stopped short. She hadn't meant to start shouting, but by the time she got to the end, she just couldn't hold it in any longer. Were her parents really so clueless that they couldn't see why Danny hadn't told them.

Maddie sighed, "Well then," she wrote down something on her clipboard, "So, Danny talked to you about this **after** you saw him change?"

_Oh no._ Jazz bit her lip. "Yes?" she said hesitantly. She didn't like where this was going.

Maddie nodded, "Alright, Jazz. That's all for now."

Jazz stood up and pushed her chair back under the kitchen table. But she stopped before she left the room. Should she say something? She opened her mouth, but Maddie was already on her way down to the lab. Jazz turned around and headed up to her room. She knew exactly where this was going. And she knew it was bad.

She hurried up to her room and grabbed her purse. She headed out to her car and drove to the library. She got herself a study room, and once she was inside, she pulled out the Fenton Phones.

"Sam? Tucker? Anyone there?" she whispered.

"Yeah, I'm here," Sam's voice came in.

Jazz sighed with relief, "Thank goodness. We have a problem."

"What?" a hint of panic echoed in Sam's voice.

"Well, they haven't actually said anything. That is, this is just a guess-"

"Jazz, just spit it out."

"I think my parents still think Danny, or Danny Phantom, is evil."

"What?! I thought you were going to talk to them and tell them the truth!"

"I know, and I did. But, Mom seemed pretty hung up on the fact that Danny didn't tell me about him being half ghost until **after** I had already found out."

"Hmm, well they do have a point..."

"Sam!"

"Would it help if Tucker and I talked to them? I mean, we knew about it as soon as it happened."

Jazz shook her head, "I thought about that, but I don't think they would care. I mean, you and Tucker were there when it happened, and I'll guess you couldn't actually see inside the portal?"

Sam sighed, "No."

"They would probably think Danny only let you know what was going on because you saw him as a ghost."

"This is all such a mess. If they're going to twist everything into Danny Phantom trying to trick us and pull the wool over our eyes, how are we supposed to show them they're wrong?"

Jazz's heart sank, "I don't know that there **is** anything we can do."

"But, if we don't convince them that Danny's fine..." Sam trailed off.

Jazz finished for her, "He can't come back. Ever."


	5. Merely Seconds

**So, this chapter is one of my favorites, mainly because I am beginning to explore what exactly it means for Danielle to be a clone of Danny. I hope you all enjoy!**

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><p>Jazz jumped when her phone rang. She hadn't used it at all recently. She was surprised the battery hadn't died. She grabbed it, but the number wasn't familiar. Her heart jumped. <em>Calm down, Jazz. Don't get your hopes up. It might not be Danny.<em> Still, she couldn't hide the excitement in her voice, "Hello?"

"Hi, Jazz. How are you?"

Jazz froze. She didn't recognize the voice, "Uh, fine. Who is this?"

"Come on, Jazz. It's me, Danielle."

_Danielle? _Suddenly it clicked, "Oh, sorry," Jazz stuttered, "I, uh, didn't recognize your voice at first."  
>"There's probably a bad connection. Can you call me back later?"<p>

Jazz caught her breath, "S-sure. Can you give me your number? I don't think I have it in my phone right."

"Sure." The other girl rambled off a number and then said good bye. Jazz could hardly contain herself. She dashed down the stairs, didn't even bother to notice if her parents saw her leave, and drove to the Nasty Burger. On her way, she pulled out the Fenton Phones, "Sam! Tucker!"

"Yeah."

"What?"

Jazz smiled, thank goodness they were both there, "I just got a call from Danielle. Meet me at the Nasty Burger now."

"Wait, hold up. Danny's cousin, Danielle?"

Jazz rolled her eyes. Why did Tucker have to ask questions now? "Yes that Danielle. Just meet me there, ok?"

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><p>They all waited anxiously by the pay phone. Unfortunately, it was in use.<p>

"No one ever uses that thing, and the one time we need it..." Sam grumbled to herself.

"I'm still confused. How do you know that it was Danielle, Danny's cousin?"

Jazz groaned, "Come on? First, I don't know a Danielle, but she knew my name and my phone number. Second, she sounded just a bit nervous. The only reason would be if she was afraid someone was listening-"

"Actually, there **are** other reasons..." Tucker trailed off when Jazz gave him a glare.

"Third, it sounded like there was someone talking to her in the background. Fourth, she wanted me to call her back **later**. She said there was a bad connection, but there wasn't. And if there had been, she would have wanted me to call her back immediately. And fifth, the phone number she gave me doesn't match a cell phone or area code, it looks more like the number for a hotel room."

Tucker raised an eyebrow, "How would you know that?"

Jazz opened her mouth to answer, but just then the person at the pay phone hung up. They all rushed over to it. Sam could hardly get the coins in fast enough. Jazz wanted to punch in the number as fast as possible, but she wanted to make sure she got it right. Finally, she hit the last number. They all held their breath as the phone rang. After just a minute, though it felt much longer, the phone picked up. A young girl answered, "Hello?"

Jazz swallowed, "I-is this Danielle?"

She could almost hear her smile, "Yeah. Just a second."

Jazz heard the phone being passed to someone else, and then "Jazz?"

Jazz's pulse quickened, "Danny? Is that really you?"

"Yeah. It's really good to hear your voice again. Are Tucker and Sam there?"

Jazz nodded, "Y-yes. They're both here." Jazz's hand shook as she passed the phone to Sam. She hadn't realized how concerned she was about Danny until now.

Sam held the phone so that both she and Tucker could talk and hear. "Danny? Where are you?"

Sam could her the smile in Danny's voice, "Hey, Sam. I'm not sure where I am, but I'm fine. Danielle's here with me. I'm doing alright. How are you guys holding up?"

Sam started to talk, but she couldn't seem to get the words out.

Tucker picked up on this, "We've been doing alright. We've been kind of worried about you, but we've been fine."

"Yeah, I'm really sorry I left you guys in that spot."

"N-no," Sam choked out, "It's not your fault. Really." She looked over at Tucker and Jazz, "You're in a much worse position than we are." Seeing Jazz's face, and knowing that she wanted to talk again, Sam passed the phone back to her.

Jazz smiled at Sam, "So, what are you going to do?"

There was a pause on the other line for a minute, "Well, I'm not entirely sure."

* * *

><p>Danny looked over at Danielle. He really didn't know what he was going to do. Hadn't he just admitted that to Danielle? He was at a lose for what to do. He swallowed, "Have, uh, have Mom and Dad, uh, you know..." he trailed off, not sure how to phrase it, and not really wanting to try.<p>

"They've been kind of keeping it to themselves," Jazz answered. "They talked to me this morning-"

Danny heard Jazz cut herself off. What was she holding back? What had happened?

"But I really don't know what they're thinking."

Danny bit his lip. He looked over at Danielle again. She nodded. Danny turned back to the phone, "I know you guys have been waiting a while, but could you give me about ten minutes and call back?"

"Sure. Just, don't forget," Jazz half laughed. Danny felt bad, making her wait, but he just wasn't sure. "Alright. Talk to you soon."

"Bye."

The line went dead and Danny hung up the phone. He turned to face Danielle. She was smiling at him. He gave her an annoyed look, "What?"

She snickered, "You."  
>Danny rolled his eyes, "Just say what you're thinking. I have minutes to decide what I'm going to do with the rest of my life."<p>

Danielle shook her head, "Well, I hope you won't decide to spend it here." She looked past him to the phone, and her tone got more serious, "They really care, you know."

Danny nodded, "I know."

Danielle looked back at him, "Don't forget it."

Danny gave her puzzled look, but she didn't go on. After a minute or so of sitting in silence, Danielle spoke again, "So, what **are** you going to do?"

Danny groaned and flopped back on the bed, "I. Don't. Know." He pressed his hands on his eyes, "I just-" He stopped. He really didn't want to voice his deepest fear. There was still that child-like fear that voicing it would make it happen. Still, since Danielle was a clone of him, she might already know and understand Danny's fear. He chuckled, _If that's the case, I'm talking to myself._

"What?" Danielle asked.

Danny just shook his head. After a minute, he regained his composure, "I guess, I don't want to make a plan. I keep hoping that any minute now, Jazz will call and tell me that I can come home. That Mom and Dad are ready to accept me," he let out a sigh, "But, it seems more likely that the sun would disappear than that."

"Does being bad at math carry over into logic?"

Danny lifted his head and glared at Danielle, "Is this what it's like to talk to me?"

"Probably."

Danny let his head fall back to the bed, "I'm not staying here. I don't want to live in a hotel, or on the streets, more likely. I'm not old enough to own my own place, like I could even afford one," he scoffed.

"Well," Danielle swung her legs back and forth, "There is one possibility you haven't considered yet."

Danny sat up, "I'm not going back to Amity Park. I can't stand the idea of living there and not being able to see my parents, if I could live there at all without be blasted to bits."

Danielle shook her head, "No, I meant," she stood up, "You could travel with me."

Danny's eyebrows bunched together. She was right; he hadn't thought of that. Did he really want to travel around? It sounded more fun than hanging around here.

The phone rang, breaking the silence. Had it really been ten minutes already? Danny reached for the phone, "Jazz?"

"Hello, is Daniel Fenton there?" a male voice asked.

Danny slammed the phone down, his pulse skyrocketing.

"Wow. What was that?"

Danny sat down on the edge of the bed, trying to slow his breathing, "I-I don't know. They-they were looking for me. I mean, Danny **Fenton**."

"Really? How did the find you?" Danielle walked over to the bed, not hiding the concern in her voice.

Danny shook his head, "I don't know. But we can't stay here. We'll wait 'til Jazz calls back, and then we'll get a room somewhere else."

Danielle just nodded. Danny hadn't told her what he was going to do, but the phone call had clearly freaked him out. She decided just to let him think. A few minutes later, the phone rang again. This time, Danielle picked up, "Hello?"

"Danielle? Is that you?"

Danielle smiled, recognizing Jazz's voice, "Yeah. Here's Danny."

She passed the phone to Danny, "Hey Jazz."

"So. I'm assuming you wanted me to give you time to figure out your plan. Have you?" Danny took a deep breath, "I did. I'm-" he looked over at his cousin, "I'm going with Danielle."

* * *

><p><strong>So, I had a lot of trouble trying to decide what name the person on the phone should say. The goal is to freak Danny out, but I wasn't sure whether it would work better to have them ask for Danny Fenton, Daniel Fenton, or Danny Phantom. I hope you did enjoy it. Please leave reviews and tell me what you think. Also, if you have any suggestions or requests, please let me know (requests for things in this story, or other stories you would like me to write). Thank you again for taking the time to read this.<strong>


	6. Carrying On

**Sorry if this chapter isn't the best. I'm really getting excited about what's coming up in the story, so this chapter is mainly a bridge between the last chapters and the ones coming up. But I do enjoy this chapter, and it does have some important points. I do hope you enjoy! Please leave reviews and tell me what you think.**

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><p>"What?" Danny heard Sam's voice butting in.<p>

"Danielle offered to let me travel around with her for a while. Someone just called the hotel phone asking for me. So, I'm not stickin' around here."

"But, if you're going to travel around with Danielle, how are we going to find you when you can come back?"

Danny paused. He knew the answer. That's why he was doing this. If he thought his parents would accept him one day, he would be concerned about being able to contact Sam, Jazz, and Tucker. But, he didn't. Somewhere inside him that hope was still alive. But every minute it grew smaller and smaller. Why would they accept him. He hadn't really given them a reason to. He had been lying to them for **three years**. Still, did Sam, Tucker, and Jazz need to know that? "I'll keep an eye on the city. If things calm down, I'll come back." There was a pause on the other end of the line. Danny bit his lip, "I promise."

Tucker's voice came through, "Do what you gotta do man. We'll be here."

"Thanks, Tuck."

"Danny," Jazz sounded concerned, "Just, be careful. Tell Danielle she better not get you into any trouble."

Danny smiled, "I'll be careful, Jazz. You know I always am."

Jazz sighed, "I know."

"Danny?"

Danny swallowed hard, "Yeah Sam?"

"Don't stay away too long. Remember, we'll always be here."

"I know. I'll see you later, Sam."

"You better."

* * *

><p>Sam hung up the phone. It felt so final, like a last goodbye. Danny hadn't said it, but she had heard it in his tone. He didn't expect to come back. He had resigned himself to the idea that his parents would <strong>never<strong> accept him. That he could **never **come back. She didn't say anything the rest of the day. Not to Jazz and Tucker when she left the Nasty Burger. Not to her parents during dinner, not that that was unusual. She didn't even stay up to watch TV after dinner. She went straight to bed. Was tomorrow really only Saturday? It felt like it had been so much longer since Danny left, since that Thursday everything had gone wrong.

She closed her eyes, reliving the moment. She and Tucker had tried to keep his parents busy, to distract them. Normally Vlad didn't attack Danny out in the open like that. It just didn't happen. She still didn't know why he had. She didn't really care. Either way, they had failed Danny. **She** had failed Danny, when he needed her most. She had seen the tired look in his eyes. She knew it was coming, that he was going to pass out. And she knew what came with that. But she had failed to keep his parents from seeing.

School crossed her mind as she climbed into her bed. Jazz would be better at coming up with a reason for Danny's absence at school for however long. It would seem more reasonable coming from his sister than from his friends. It occurred to her that today had been a school day. Oh well, she had a good reason for cutting. She would make it up. She rubbed her eyes and rolled over. She needed rest, bad. Finally, after tossing and turning for hours, she fell into a restless sleep.

* * *

><p>Danny yawned and rolled over. He opened his eyes, but squeezed them shut again. The sun managed to peek through the curtains, "Danielle, can you close the curtains," he muttered.<p>

"Why can't you?" Danielle groaned. Like Danny, she hated early mornings.

Danny smiled at the thought and managed to drag himself out of the bed. They had headed straight to this hotel after talking with Jazz, Sam, and Tucker. After everything he had been through, he had practically passed out in the bed. At least this hotel had two beds instead of just one. He looked over at the other bed. Danielle was buried in the sheets. She had rolled over in the bed and was now wrapped up in the sheets. Danny smiled and threw a pillow at her, "Hey."

The pillow hit Danielle's head, and she sat up and glared at Danny, "Hey!"

"Yeah, that's what I said, 'Hey'."

Danielle put a hand to her head and groaned. Danny just laughed. She gave him a look, "I thought you weren't a morning person?"

"What ever would give you that idea?" Danny asked, feigning insult.

"Uh, duh? **I'm** not a morning person."

"Well, I'm not either. But," Danny pointed to the clock, "It's already ten."

"What?!" Danielle wiped her head around to look at the clock, "Ah man, I didn't mean to sleep **that **late." She jumped out of the bed.

"I didn't either," Danny said. He walked over to his bag and pulled out a change of clothes. "Hey, I didn't notice, but do you have a bag?"

Danielle shrugged and shook her head, "Nope. I just wear this set. And my 'other' set," she winked at Danny, her eyes flashing to green and then back.

Danny felt kind of bad, "Well, we should get you another set of clothes."

"Why? I mean, I'm fine with what I've got."

"Still, wouldn't it be nice to have a back-up?"

Danielle nodded and laughed. Danny gave her a funny look, "What?"

"It's just, you're a guy, and you're having to talk** me** into shopping."

Danny grinned as he walked to the bathroom to change. He looked at himself in the mirror. It suddenly hit him what the consequences of not returning home were. He wouldn't see Jazz any more. He wouldn't hear her rants about the psychological effects of ghost hunting. He wouldn't get to hang out with Tucker and hear him drone on and on about the new PDA he was looking at. And he wouldn't get to see Sam. He pushed the thoughts away, not even wanting to think about not seeing Sam. Danielle wanted to get moving. He could think about all this later.

* * *

><p>Several days passed. Sam had fallen into a routine. Get up. Go to school. Go to the Nasty Burger with Tucker and Jazz. Sit in awkward silence. Go home. Do homework. Go to bed. Repeat. She felt like a zombie. She and Tucker had started meeting with Jazz at the Nasty Burger to talk about Danny and Jazz's parents, but nothing had really changed. According to Jazz, they spent most of their time in the lab or in Danny's room. They rarely talked to her, unless they were asking questions about Danny. Jazz had starting spending the night at her friends house to avoid having to talk to them.<p>

So, when Sam and Tucker walked into the Nasty Burger that afternoon, she had expected to sit in the booth for maybe fifteen minutes, get some food, sit there another thirty minutes or so, and go home. Instead, she and Tucker were met by a very energetic Jazz.

"Guys!" she practically screamed across the restaurant.

Sam and Tucker looked at each other and shrugged. Jazz barely gave them time to sit in the booth before she started talking, "So, last night, I didn't spend a night at a friend's house. And Mom and Dad were asking me all these questions, and I really didn't know how to answer, nor did I want to. So, I told them that even though I knew Danny's secret, we still weren't all that close. Especially when I started college. He was way closer to you guys." Jazz paused and took a breath.

Tucker shrugged, "So?"

Jazz rolled her eyes, "So, they said they wanted to talk to you guys!"

Sam looked at Tucker, then back at Jazz, "And, that's a good thing?"

Jazz let out an exasperated sigh, "Yes! If you guys talk to them about Danny, and the way he's been acting since the accident, maybe they'll listen. Maybe you can convince them that Danny is still Danny."

Sam and Tucker exchanged a glance. It didn't seem incredibly likely that the Fentons would listen to them if they didn't listen to their own daughter. But, it was certainly worth a shot.


	7. At A Loss

**Hey guys. Thank you for all the reviews and suggestions. Sorry that this chapter is kind of short, but hopefully you still enjoy it. Please continue to leave reviews and suggestions. And if you have any questions, please let me know.**

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><p>Danny sat quietly. He and Danielle had been flying for quite a while. They had stopped to rest in a park. Danielle was laying on the ground, watching the clouds. Danny wanted to relax, to lay beside her and watch the clouds. But the phone call in the hotel had shaken him. Danielle had tried to convince him that it wasn't anything to worry about. His parents were looking for him. Maybe it was them. But regardless, Danny couldn't shake the paranoid feeling it had given him. How had anyone managed to find him that fast? They were a good way from that town, but if someone could find him once, they could do it again.<p>

* * *

><p>Sam and Tucker stood on the steps outside Fenton Works. Both of them were nervous. Neither of them had knocked or rung the doorbell yet.<p>

"What's the point of even doing this?" Sam asked.

Tucker shrugged, "I don't know."

"We asked Jazz when Danny first left if we should talk to their parents, and she said it wouldn't make a difference."

"I know."

"I don't see why that would have changed."

"Me neither."

"Tucker!" Sam shoved him, "You're really not being very helpful."

Tucker grinned, "I know."

"Ugh!" Sam threw her hands in the air. They stood silently in front of the door for another minute.

Finally, Tucker said, "Look, maybe it won't make a difference, but Danny would do it for us. He **has** done it for us. Think of all the times he tried to take the blame for us, when he stood up for us. We have to give it a shot. We owe him that."

Sam nodded. Taking a deep breath, she reached forward and pressed the doorbell button. They waited. They heard steps in the hallway, and the door opened, revealing Mrs. Fenton.

She smiled at them, "Hello Sam. Hello Tucker. You guys come on into the kitchen."

Sam and Tucker looked at each other and stepped into the house.

"Do either of you want a snack or something to drink?" Mrs. Fenton asked.

Sam and Tucker both shook their heads. Tucker looked around the room. _This is too weird._ The room looked the same as always, but something about it had changed. He looked at Mrs. Fenton. How could she just go on? She was acting like she always had when he came over. Like any second now Danny would come bounding down the stairs. Like Danny wasn't running from them because they had been, essentially, trying to kill him?

Mrs. Fenton sat down and placed two drinks on the table, despite the fact neither Sam or Tucker had asked for one. She smiled, "So, I just have a few questions for you two." She pulled out a clipboard, "You two have known about Danny's 'abilities' for how long?" She looked up expectantly at them.

Sam exchanged a glance with Tucker. Sam wanted nothing more than to shout at Mrs. Fenton, to tell her what she really thought. To force her to understand what she had done to her son. Her anger was boiling up inside her. She was furious. But, she knew that Tucker was right. This was their chance. They had Mrs. Fenton's attention. They had to do everything they could to defend Danny. They owed him.

* * *

><p>"Danny?"<p>

Danny was brought back from his thoughts by Danielle's voice, "Huh?"

She gave him a wistful smile, "You were zoning out again."

Danny rubbed the back of his neck, "Sorry. I just can't stop thinking about that call."

Danielle sighed; her head drooped. She peeked up at him from behind her bangs, "You're really not going to give it up, no matter what I say?"

"It's not that I don't trust you. It's just-" he stopped short when Danielle gave him a look. "Yeah. Sorry."

Danielle lifted her head and let out a sigh of relief, "Thank goodness. That was getting old."

Danny raised an eyebrow, "What?"

Danielle smiled, "I didn't want to freak you out, especially if I could convince you it wasn't a big deal. But, I'm a little concerned about the call too. I didn't want to tell you because, well, I thought if you thought I didn't think it was a big deal, maybe you wouldn't worry about it."

Danny squeezed his eyes shut, "Uh, ok?"

Danielle laughed, "Sorry. That sounded pretty complicated."

Danny smiled at her, "It's not a big deal." After a moment, his smile fell, "Who do you think it was?"

Danielle shrugged, "I don't know. I didn't hear the voice. Did you recognize it?"

Danny hung his head, "I really don't remember what it sounded like. I was just so surprised when it wasn't Jazz that I didn't really pay attention."

Danielle waved it away, "That' fine. I understand. Do you have any ideas?"

Danny shook his head, "I don't think anyone knows that I left except Sam, Tucker, Jazz, my mom, and my dad. It couldn't have been Sam, Tucker, or Jazz, because they called us right after that. I think it was a guy's voice, so it couldn't have been my mom," he paused.

"So, was it your dad?"

Danny pushed his hand through his hair, "He's the only one left. But the voice on the phone asked for Daniel. I can't even remember the last time my dad called me Daniel. In fact, I don't know that he ever has."

They sat quietly for a while. They were sitting in a restaurant. It was almost night. The place was mostly empty except for the few employees who would be closing soon. Danny's eyes held a faraway look. Danielle watched him. She could almost see the gears turning in his head. He looked up at her. "Anything?" she asked, hopefully.

"Nope. Nothing."


	8. Pressed for Time

**Hey guys. I really sorry it's been so long since an update. I had this chapter typed up, but my internet has been out. So, I extended the chapter. Yay! I hope you enjoy. Please leave reviews and any questions you have. Thanks.**

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><p>Danny stretched his arms, sitting on the park bench. He was tired. He and Danielle had been traveling pretty non-stop. He was ready for a break. Yet, the voice on the phone was still echoing in the back of his mind. He looked over at the other bench. Danielle had fallen asleep on it almost as soon as she laid down. Danny looked down at his watch. They had gotten here about three hours ago. He smirked. <em>I slept for three hours? I really <em>_**do **__need a break._ He thought about waking Danielle up, but he decided not to. It was around seven in the evening. The park they had stopped in seemed pretty empty. Still, Danny was surprised they had been able to sleep for three hours without being disturbed. He checked under the bench and smiled. He had been able to keep his bag invisible the whole time. He turned it visible again and placed it on his lap. He opened it and looked through the contents. There were a few packs of crackers left, but not much else for them to eat. He placed the bag beside him and pulled out his wallet. He bit his lip as he counted the money. If they stayed in hotels, which they both preferred to the alternative, and had to buy food, they wouldn't be able to go much longer. It crossed Danny's mind whether they had to eat or not. After all, ghosts don't eat, and they were both half ghost. He mulled over this for a while, but determined that it wasn't something he wanted to experiment with.

He checked his watch again. It was 7:30 now. He stood up and walked over to Danielle. He shook her gently, "Hey, Danielle."

She stirred and slowly opened her eyes. She smiled up at Danny, "Maybe you were right. I did need a short rest."

Danny laughed, "Well, it appears you did get my math ability. Three hours isn't exactly a 'short' nap."

Danielle pushed herself up into a sitting position and yawned, "Three hours? Really?"

Danny nodded and sat by her on the bench. He knew she must be hungry; they had flown for quite a while before stopping. But considering what they had left, he thought it was probably a good idea to hold out on the food until they were both really hungry.

Danielle stretched her arms, "Ready to get going again?"

"Again? Are we trying to go somewhere specific?"

Danielle shrugged and glanced around where they were sitting, "No. I just," she paused. Her eyes darted about anxiously, "I have a bad feeling about this place. Like, like something bad is going to happen if we stay here."

Danny looked around him. Now that she mentioned it, he had a bad feeling too. Something was urging him to get out of here as soon as possible. He didn't think he recognized the town they were in, but maybe he did. He looked up at the sky. The sun was starting to set. Traveling at night, when you want to remain hidden, seems like a good idea. However, when your flying, it makes it difficult to see where you're going. Also, Danny and Danielle could turn invisible, so traveling at night wasn't necessary for them to stay hidden.

"I kinda have a bad feeling too, but it's getting late, and we've been going all day. I think we should stay here for the night. We can get up and leave early tomorrow if you want."

Danielle nodded, "Alright." She stood up, "Let's go find a hotel."

* * *

><p>"What's Jazz telling the school about where Danny is?"<p>

"She told them that Danny's staying with their cousin for a while."

Tucker laughed, "Well, that **is** what he's doing. I'm surprised their parents are ok with that."

"Tucker, you talked to them with me. They clearly don't think that Danny and Danny Phantom are actually the same person. In their minds, Danny's been gone for a long time."

Tucker leaned back in his chair "I know. I am starting to get a bad feeling about where this is going."

"Are you serious?!" Sam practically shouted through the Fenton Phones. "You're only **just now **starting to get a bad feeling about this?!"

"Come on, Sam. When it had only been like a day or so, I wasn't really worried. I figured a lot of it was just shock value. But after week..." Tucker paused and looked out his window, "shock value should have worn off by now."

"We need to figure out how to contact Danny."

"Why? It's not like his parents are even close to not wanting to blast him to bits or experiment on him if he comes within a hundred mile radius." Sam was silent on the other end. Tucker sighed, "Look, I know you're worried. But we can't really do anything to help him right now. We just need to keep an eye on his parents. If they get to the point where Danny can come home, then we can figure how to contact him. If you want to think about it, you can. But, honestly, I don't think even Danny expects that to happen." Tucker paused, wanting for Sam to answer. He hated arguing with her about this, but right now, he kind of wanted her to argue. He wanted someone to tell him he was wrong to prove to him that they did need to contact Danny, that they **could **help him somehow.

After a minute, Sam answered in a hushed tone, "Yeah, you're right."

Sometimes, Tucker hated being right.

* * *

><p>The crowds on the streets were beginning to thin out. The streetlights were coming on. A few shops had already closed up for the night. After walking for a bit and not coming across a hotel, Danny and Danielle stopped in one of the shops to ask where they could find one. The shop keeper suggested they take a taxi, as the nearest hotel was a good distance away. They were given a map and Danny thanked the shop keeper. Instead of taking a taxi, Danielle suggested they fly. Danny agreed and they took off. It was fairly dark out by the time they reached the hotel. They got a room and both went to bed immediately. Just before he fell asleep, Danny got an eerie feeling that they were being watched, but sleep overcame him. Seconds later, he was fast asleep.<p>

* * *

><p>When Danny woke up, he felt like something was off. He hadn't gotten a good look at the room the night before, yet he knew something was missing. He glanced around the room. Nothing seemed wrong. He rolled over and looked at the clock. <em>1:00 A.M.? Yikes! I should go back to bed. <em>He closed his eyes and started to drift off again, but it occurred to him to see if Danielle was awake. If she was, she might want to go ahead and leave. This place was giving them both the creeps. He groaned inwardly and climbed out of his bed. He walked over to the one Danielle was in. Suddenly, it hit him what was missing. The bed was empty, and Danielle was gone.

Panic began to set in. Danny could feel his pulse quickening. _Calm down. You aren't going to get any where by freaking out._ He took a few slow breaths and started to collect his thoughts. Was it possible that Danielle had left the room of her own free will? No, that didn't make any sense. Then someone took her out of the room. But who?

Danny walked over to the desk in the room to see if there was any sort of note. He noticed, sitting on the desk, a binder of different restaurants and places to visit in town. He flipped it open and discovered a road map inside. Danny was taken aback when he saw the map and realized where they were. The town was just a few miles from Vlad Master's mansion. Danny sat down in the chair, leaned his elbow on the desk, and laid his head on his hand. The pieces were all coming together. Vlad was probably the one who made the phone call. He **was** the only person Danny knew who called him Daniel. _I'm such an idiot. I should have listened to Danielle and left last night. This is all my fault. Gosh, everyone's right; I am clueless. _

Danny stood up. He didn't know when Vlad had kidnapped Danielle, but it couldn't have been too long ago. Regardless, he had to hurry. If Vlad was still hung up on cloning him, Danielle was in serious danger.

* * *

><p>Danielle struggled against the restraints on the examination table. <em>I am such an idiot. I should have seen this coming.<em> She wished she had had the good sense to insist that they leave. It wasn't Danny's fault. She had been the one dictating where they went; therefore, she had a better idea of their location than he did. He didn't have any way of knowing they were near Vlad's house, but she should have known. _Serves me right. I sure hope Danny wakes up and figures out where I am._

"Comfortable?" Vlad taunted as he approached the table.

"No, as if you actually care," Danielle spat back at him.

Vlad just laughed, "You really did turn out quite well. A near spitting image of Daniel, in looks and attitude. You are perhaps the best of all the clones, for now."

Danielle pushed harder against the restraints; she had to stall. If she didn't, she would soon be a puddle of goo, "Why did you call Danny in the hotel?"

"Oh, that? You see, I knew that Daniel wouldn't stick around Amity Park. I figured, if I followed him, eventually he would lead me to you. And it appears I was right. But, I didn't know if you were at the first town with him or not, so I needed to make sure he didn't stay there. I knew the phone call would scare him into leaving."

"Why didn't you grab me then?" Danielle demanded. She glanced around the lab, looking for anything she could use to defend herself, but nothing was within her reach.

"Well, my dear, I'm not a fool, though Daniel may believe so," Vlad lifted a clipboard and began to write on it, glancing at several monitors. "I may be powerful, but I know better than to engage both of you at once. You would have both gotten away before I could get you." He put the clipboard down. Danielle opened her mouth slightly, trying to think of something else to ask, something to buy her more time. But her time had run out. Vlad smiled cruelly at her, "Let's get started, shall we?"

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><p>Danny reached Vlad's mansion without too much trouble. He wasn't surprised to discover that Vlad had a ghost shield up. He transformed and crossed the yard stealthily. He was, however, surprised to discover that something was preventing him from phasing through the walls. <em>Vlad must have a device that keeps me from phasing through the walls. He probably got some way to turn it on and off. Well, at least I know he's home.<em> Danny scanned the wall and discovered a window that wasn't closed all the way on the second floor. Danny bent his knees and flexed his fingers. He took a breath and jumped. He had gotten fairly strong, even in his human form, but he still came a few inches short of the window sill. He landed hard on the ground. He bit down hard on his lip to keep from crying out. He looked back up at the window and smacked his forehead. _Ghost powers._ He transformed, flew up to the window, and pushed it open. He crawled inside and quickly made his way to the main floor. The house was very quiet, and Danny assumed Vlad was in his lab. He knew where the entrance was, but it made a fair amount of noise when it was used, so Danny decided to phase through the floor. Whatever device prevented him from phasing through the outer walls apparently didn't effect the interior walls or floor.

Unfortunately, Danny's guess of where the lab was was slightly off, and he phased into a closet. He turned himself invisible and passed through the door. He recognized Vlad's lab. He saw the chambers he used for cloning, an examination table, and the device Vlad had used to try and melt Danielle last time. But Danielle and Vlad where nowhere to be seen. Had he guessed wrong, or was he already too late?


	9. By the Skin of My Teeth

**I'm really sorry about the long wait. This chapter took me a while to write, but we are starting to get to the part I'm really psyched about. Yay! I hope you enjoy. I will try and update really soon. Again, please review and let me know what you think and ask any questions you have. Also, please go and look at the my DP oneshot Titanium. It's a scene from a DP story I would like to write, and I would really appreciate some feedback on this scene. Thanks and enjoy.**

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><p>Danny frantically looked around, searching for any sign of where Danielle might be. He wasn't going to accept that he was too late; he couldn't. He remained invisible, just in case Vlad showed up. Nothing in the lab seemed to have been used recently. None of the machines were on. There wasn't any equipment lying around. <em>Maybe Danielle isn't here.<em> He turned around and noticed an odd corner. It was oddly shaped, and almost looked as if it was it's own room. Danny knew that Vlad didn't build this house, but he did build the lab. It didn't seem like Vlad to put in something like that without having a purpose for it. Danny decides to see if it led anywhere. He walked into the corner and discover another room, hidden from view because of the odd shape of the nook that opened up into it.

Vlad was standing beside an examination table. There were several monitors surrounding it, all recording different data. But the only thing Danny really noticed was the girl laying on the table. Her wrists and legs were in restraints, and a large green-tinted, glass casing was over her and the table. Her eyes were closed.

At first, Danny was afraid that he was too late, but one of the monitors appeared to be recording her heart rate. She was still in her human form. _Why hasn't Vlad changed her to her ghost form? I guess he doesn't know how. Can he melt her in her human form?_ He looked around the lab; he didn't have time to wonder about that. He had to get her out of here. Unfortunately, if Vlad had used a gas to knock her out, which Danny assumed he had, she might not wake up for a while. There was no way he could get them both out if she was unconscious. He couldn't fight Vlad and protect an unconscious Danielle at the same time. At the back of the room, Danny spotted Vlad's ghost portal. Maybe he could take her through there. It was closed at the moment, though. He would have to get it open, and soon.

Danny, remaining invisible, entered the room cautiously. He hoped that if Vlad sensed a ghost, he would assume it was Danielle. He slowly made his was farther into the room. Vlad looked up for a minute, but soon returned to what he was doing.

Danny almost sighed with relief, but he had to stay alert. Vlad could discover him at any second. He made his way over to one of the tables. _Vlad's always saying I'm like him. So, what would I do if I had a ghost portal. I guess, I would want a way to turn it on and off, probably without having to be standing right next to it._ Danny looked around to see if there was a remote any where, hoping against hope that Vlad didn't have it on him. _Ah ha!_ Danny, making sure to turn it invisible first, picked up a remote. It wasn't labeled, but it was the only remote Danny saw. He just hoped he was right. Now he had to figure out how to get Danielle out of there.

Vlad's voice interrupted his thoughts, "I do hope you're planning on returning my remote, Daniel."

Danny froze. _How can he know I'm here?_ Danny wanted to respond, but he hoped that if he didn't make any noise, Vlad wouldn't be able to tell where in the room he was, assuming he wasn't bluffing about knowing he was here, hoping to draw Danny into revealing himself.

Vlad remained with his back turned to Danny, "Come now, Daniel. Did you really think I wouldn't realize you were here?"

Danny bit his lip. He hated that about Vlad; he always seemed to be two steps ahead. But he couldn't let Vlad phase him now, not when Danielle needed him. He needed to keep his head clear. His gaze swept the lab. There was no way he could get Vlad to open whatever he had Danielle inside. Danny looked at the monitors; some of them looked like they were monitoring her vitals. He really didn't want to just break the glass; he wasn't sure what that would do. Vlad was probably smart enough to make sure ghosts couldn't phase through the glass, so it probably wasn't even worth trying.

Vlad looked up at the ceiling as if he wasn't really seeing it and sighed, "Really, Daniel. I know we have our differences, but I had hoped you had matured and grown past this childish behavior."

Danny's blood boiled. Did Vlad really think that his desire to melt down Danielle was just a "difference" that Danny could just look past? _I'll show him._ Danny felt his energy flowing to his right hand and realized he had subconsciously lifted his hand. Danny took a deep breath, _keep it together. You can't lose your cool now. _

An idea flashed through his head, and he smirked, "Really, Vlad. I thought you knew me better than that."

Vlad jerked around to face Danny. A blast flew from his hand, slicing through the air, and slamming into Danny. Or at least, where Danny had been a few moments before. From the other side of the room, a voice taunted, "Whoops. Looks like **someone **needs some more practice." Vlad spun around and flung another blast across the room. Once again, the target had evaded the shot before it had even left Vlad's hand. _Cheese Puffs! How is the boy still evading me. Could Daniel being getting stronger? It doesn't matter; he'll never get stronger than I am. _"Show yourself, Daniel," Vlad growled venomously, "Hiding will do you no good. You may as well offer a fair fight, or do you intend to take me out from behind like a coward," he spat out the last word.

Danny's laughter echoed off the walls, coaxing a few more shots from Vlad, "Please. If I was here to fight you, don't you think I would have, you know, attacked you already?"

Vlad's scowl deepened as he scanned the room. It was just like Daniel to try and play mind games. Oh well, he had what Daniel wanted, so he had the advantage.

Danny slipped up behind Vlad, still invisible, and scanned the clipboard Vlad had put down. _I guess Jazz and Lancer were right. Some of that stuff at school is useful. _The clipboard might as well have been written inRussian, or Martian as far as Danny was concerned. He had no idea what to make of it. But glancing at the monitors, he felt decently confident that the only thing the glass container was being used for at the moment was, obviously, to keep Danielle from escaping, since she couldn't phase through it, and pumping in a gas that kept her unconscious. _I should probably try and turn off the gas first._ He flew around the room, throwing out some more taunts, between each search for a way to turn off the gas. Finally he found a knob that looked like it controlled the level of gas. Biting his lip and crossing his fingers, he turned the knob all the way off. Backing up just a bit, he blasted the glass, but his ghost ray just glanced off. He didn't have enough time to charge up a beam capable of breaking it. But someone was already charged up.

Vlad spun around. Fearing Vlad would realize that Danielle was almost free, Danny fired another blast at the ground just behind Vlad, trying to make both shots look like missed attempts to hit him. Vlad laughed, "Now who needs some practice?"

A smile crossed Danny's face as he taunted, "You couldn't hit me even if you **could **see me."

"Oh really," Vlad spat back.

Danny smirked. He flew up by the ceiling and turned visible for one second before vanishing again. He didn't even wait for Vlad to fire, which he did. Danny flew over by the wall and appeared again and vanished again. Vlad fired again. Again and again, Danny appeared only to vanish again. Vlad was so intent upon hitting Danny that he didn't even really look at where Danny was before firing. Then, in a flash, Danny appeared on the other side of the glass container and stuck his tongue out at Vlad while looking through the glass. Vlad swung around, his blast charged up much stronger than Danny's blast had been. The glass shattered. Vlad staggered back, his arms raised to cover his face. In a second, Danny had the remote out and the portal open. He grabbed Danielle, who was only just beginning to wake up, and flew through the portal. Just before he passed through, he turned back to Vlad, "See ya, Uncle Vlad!"

Just as he hoped, Vlad fired one last ray at them. Unfortunately, by the time the ray had reached them, instead of obliterating or at least disabling two half ghosts, it obliterated a now closed ghost portal, safely sealing Danny and Danielle on the other side, an entire world away from Vlad.


	10. Torn Apart

**So, we're starting to get into my favorite part of the story! EEP! I hope you guys are still enjoying the story. Please review and tell me what you think. Also, feel free to ask any questions you may have. Hopefully the next chapter will be up soon. Until then, enjoy!**

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><p>Danny took a deep breath. <em>That was close. Too close. <em>He had felt pretty confident about what Vlad's reaction would be, but really, he hadn't been sure. He couldn't have been. What if he had been wrong? What then? He cringed at the thought. He didn't care to repeat that experience. Although it had been nice to get the best of Vlad for once. He grinned at the thought. Danielle groaned in his arms, bringing him back. He looked down at her, scanning her body for any injuries, but she seemed fine. Although... He glanced around nervously; he would feel better if she was in her ghost form. None of the ghosts in the Ghost Zone seemed to be too thrilled to have humans around. Things would probably go smoother if she was in her ghost form.

He felt bad asking this of her now, but he knew it was kind of necessary, "Hey, Danielle?"

She shifted in his arms, and her eyes slowly flickered open, "Huh?"

"I know you're tired, but, well, do you think you could transform?" Danny asked, giving her an apologetic smile.

"I'll give it a go." She squeezed her eyes shut, concentrating hard. A blue ring appeared around her torso. It split into two, one moving in each direction as they traveled along her body. In an instant Dani Phantom had taken Danielle's place. She smiled up at Danny, her green eyes sparkling, "I actually feel a little better now."

"Good. Can you fly?"

Danielle nodded, "I think so." Danny lowered her feet until she was facing upright. She wavered a bit, but gained her balance quickly. She looked around, confusion filling her face.

Danny smiled, "I took us through Vlad's ghost portal, and one of the beams he fired at us destroyed it."

Danielle nodded slowly, "Alright. So, now what? Do you know how to find your way to the Fenton portal?"

Danny looked around them. He wasn't entirely familiar with this area of the Ghost Zone. Actually, the only area he could really navigate was the area around the Fenton portal, Walker's jail, and Skulker's island. There were a few other areas that he was decently familiar with, but for the rest of the zone, he needed a map to get around. Then again, if they managed to stumble across another area that Danny was more familiar with, he could probably find his was to the Fenton portal.

He turned back to Danielle, "Well, I'm not sure how to get there from here. But, if we start heading in one direction, we may come across something I recognize, or someone I know who would help us."

"Alright. And if we don't?"

Danny remained silent, so Danielle just shrugged it off. They headed off, hopefully in the right direction. As they flew, Danielle studied Danny. He looked tired, worn out. His eyes seemed to be holding back tears. They had looked that way for quite some time now, almost like the look had become permanent. She hoped not. She knew this was hard for him, being separated from everyone he knew but her. At the same time though, he was dead set against returning home until his parents were ready for him to return. It was like he was being pulled in two directions, and she could already see where he was starting to tear. She just hoped he wouldn't let this rip him apart.

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><p>"Jack, has the test finished yet?" Maddie called down the stairs to the lab.<p>

"Not quite. It's still got at least another half hour left," came the reply.

Maddie sighed and walked over to the kitchen table. She pulled out a chair and flopped into it. She massaged her forehead. She was so tired. She wasn't sure when was the last time she had gotten a full night of sleep. She knew she needed sleep to focus, but she just couldn't sleep, not while Danny was out there somewhere. She needed to know he was safe. She didn't even know if he was alive. How could she sleep when she didn't even know that?

She sighed and looked up at the wall where there was a picture of their whole family. How had this happened? How had she not seen it sooner?

The front door slammed and Jazz walked through the kitchen, her head down.

Maddie gave a weak smile, "Hey, sweetheart."

Jazz looked up at her, a mixture of anger and sorrow on her face. Tear stains gave away that she had been crying. She hurried to the stairs, and shortly Maddie heard her door close. She sighed again. Why couldn't Jazz understand? They were only doing this because they cared about Danny. Why couldn't Jazz see that the boy who had been living in their house wasn't Danny? Looking back on the past three years, she could hardly believe she hadn't noticed. Danny had started to be more distant. He was hardly ever home. And when he was, he would close himself in his room for hours. She had brushed it off and told herself it was just because he was becoming a teenager. Hadn't Jazz done the same thing? Well, not really. But Danny wasn't just like Jazz, so of course he would act differently. _How could I have been so blind? Danny, I'm so sorry. _A few tears managed to slip out of her eyes. She let slide down her face. If only they had found out sooner.

She looked up at the clock. Time seemed to be creeping by. Was it even moving at all? This last test would help, though. It had actually been Jazz's idea. She had insisted that they run a DNA test and compare Phantom's DNA to Danny's. Maddie had been surprised at first, but she hoped that after they ran the test, Jazz would be able to understand. They had a sample of Phantom's DNA, which they had obtained a while back, but they hadn't used for much. They had obtained a sample of Danny's DNA from the hospital.

Maddie stood up and walked over to the picture on the wall. She reached up a traced Danny's smiling face. They had taken the picture several years ago. Both he and Jazz had grown so much. She bit her lip to hold back more tears. She would find him and bring him back no matter what.

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><p>"So, do you recognize anything yet?" Danielle asked.<p>

Danny looked all around them. He wasn't sure how long they had been going, but they had yet to come across anything he recognized. He sighed and shook his head sadly, "I guess we could try asking someone for help."

Danielle glanced around them and gave Danny a skeptical look. "Who are we gonna ask?" she asked gesturing to the emptiness around them.

Danny grinned and chuckled softly. He pointed to one of the doors near them, "All of these doors lead to a ghost's lair. I may not know the ghost inside, but they may be able to tell us how to get somewhere I'll be familiar with."

They flew over to the closest door, which Danny opened. The room on the other side was fairly well lit. The room itself was filled with boxes and random objects, some of which had a glow around them, and others which appeared to be from the real world. They both looked around, but they couldn't see anyone.

Danny swallowed and said in a loud voice, "Um, hello? Is anyone here?"

"Beware!"

Danny put his hand to his forehead and groaned, "Oh no."

Danielle turned to him, "What?"

Danny put his hands on her shoulders and started to push her towards the door, "We've got to get out of h-" He was cut off as the door slammed shut.

A laugh echoed around them, followed by a voice taunting, "No one can escape my boxes of doom unless I let them!"

Danny let out an annoyed sigh, "Look, we're sorry if we bothered you, but I really don't feel like dealing with you right now."

Suddenly a ghost in blue overalls appeared in front of them, "Do you not have time to attempt to shove me into your cylindrical container?!"

"Uh, no! And I don't really care to anyway," Danny crossed his arms and rolled his eyes.  
>The Box Ghost jabbed his finger in Danny's face, "The Box Ghost will not be ignored by the likes of you! You will tremble before the might of my-"<p>

"Dude! Look, I just came in here to ask for directions. If you aren't going to give any, then we aren't sticking around."

The Box Ghost paused, as if unable to comprehend. "Uh, well..."

"We're trying to find the Fenton Portal. Do you know where that is?" Danny asked, though the look on his face betrayed the fact that he didn't believe the Box Ghost would help them, even if he did know.

The Box Ghost thought for a moment before replying, "What is in it for me?!"

"Uh, I don't know. What do you want? And," Danny cut the Box Ghost off as he opened his mouth, "just because you ask for it, doesn't mean I'll do it."

The Box Ghost shut his mouth again, thinking it over.

Danny sighed, "Never mind. See ya later, or preferable not."

"Hey!" the Box Ghost shouted, but Danny ignored him. "Come on, Danielle. Let's go."

"Wait." Throughout the whole exchange between Danny and the Box Ghost, Danielle had been looking at everything in the Box Ghost's lair. One of the objects that she had been eying was a small electric green bracelet. She had never been big on jewelry, but for some reason, she really liked this bracelet. Pointing at it, she asked, "Can I have that bracelet?"

The Box Ghost looked over at it and shrugged, "I do not care for the objects that fill my boxes of terror, only for the boxes themselves!"

Danny looked over at her and smiled, "I think that was a yes."

Danielle smiled and grabbed the bracelet, sliding it onto her right wrist. It was a bit tight getting it on, but it fit alright once she was wearing it. She smiled at the Box Ghost, "Thanks."

She and Danny left before the Box Ghost could reply. Once outside, Danny sighed, "Well, that was a waste of time."

"Hey," Danielle held her right arm up to Danny's face, "I got this awesome bracelet."

Danny rolled his eyes and pushed her arm away, a smile on his face, "Whatever." He turned around, "I guess we should-" A loud siren interrupted him. Danny's eyes went wide, panic registering on his face. He muttered under his breath, "Walker."

Danielle tried to look past him, "Who?"

Danny turned back to her, and started to look frantically about them, "He's kind of like a sheriff, but he's totally corrupt. Not to mention he's out to get me and probably torture me to death, **if** he's that merciful."

Danielle's eyes widened, "What do we do?"

"We've got to hide," Danny grabbed her arm and pulled her over to one of the doors. "We'll just hide in here until-" Danny stopped and stared at Danielle's arm.

"Danny, come on! What is it?"

Danny pointed at the bracelet, "That's a real world object." Danny threw a glance over his shoulder, "Walker will arrest you for having that. You've got to take it off."

"Alright." Danielle grabbed the bracelet and tried to pull it off, but it was stuck. She jerked at it, panic setting in, but it wouldn't budge. "Danny, I- I can't get it off! It's stuck!"

Danny glanced around. He couldn't let Danielle get arrested. He did not want Walker to get a hold of her. He looked down at her wrist. Walker would never let her "get away" with possession of a real world object. Unless...

Danny opened the door and started to shove Danielle through it, "Get inside."

"What?" Danielle entered the door way, but refused to go further.

Danny pushed against her, "Just stay inside until you can't here the sirens any more."

"What about you?" Danielle searched Danny's eyes, and she realized what he intended to do. "Danny! You can't! You don't know what he'll do to you!"

"I know. But it's better than him doing whatever it is to you." He gave her a weak smile and quickly kissed her forehead, "Bye, Danielle." Then he shut the door.

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><p><strong>Another cliffhanger. Sorry if you don't like them, but I really do. :) I've modeled these chapters a little bit like the old Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books. And if you've read them, you know that almost all of the chapters end in cliff hangers. Anyway, did you enjoy our first Maddie point of view? Tell me what you think. Thanks.<strong>


	11. Beyond Painful

**Hey ya'll. I'm so sorry for the long wait. Things have been crazy because of school (and because I've been wasting time obsessing over a tv show). I'll try and get the next chapter out in not too long. I do like this chapter a lot. I, personally, love Walker. He was one of my favorite villains on the show. The others being Dark Dan (couldn't use him in this story) and the Ghost Writer (who I'm so glad only ever appeared once. I may explain later if someone asks, but that could get a little rambly right not). So anyway, yay Walker! I hope you enjoy. Please review and tell me what you think.**

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><p>Danny blasted the doorknob off the door, locking Danielle inside, and turned around. Walker would show up any minute now. <em>I'll just wait here. <em>But then he realized, even if Walker captured him, he might still go after Danielle. He would have to draw Walker away from her. Danny glanced around. He would have to wait 'til Walker saw him, then bolt.

He didn't have to wait long. In just a second, Walker appeared. Danny waited one second, just long enough for Walker to recognize him, and took off. He flew off, not really minding where he went as long as it was away from Danielle. He glanced repeatedly over his shoulder to make sure Walker was keeping up. Unfortunately, Danny became so intently focused on Walker, that he failed to notice where he was going. Danny slammed into something in front of him. Danny shook his head and opened his eyes. He felt his stomach drop. It was some of Walker's goons.

Danny spun around, but Walker had caught up. Before Danny could make a move, Walker pulled out a gun and shot Danny with it. Green bands appeared around Danny's arms and legs, but he hardly noticed. A blinding pain shot through him as soon as the shot from the gun collided with him. He bit down hard on his lip, trying to hold in a cry. But he didn't have to wait long. He felt his vision fade and knew he was slipping away. _At- at least Danielle is s- safe..._ The blackness closed in around Danny, leaving him at the mercy of his enemies.

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><p>"Dang it, Danny!" Danielle shrieked as she yanked on the doorknob, unable to get it open. She looked around her. Her body twitched. She needed to hit something, like actually<strong> needed<strong>. She jerked around; there was nothing in sight that she could punch or kick. She couldn't stand it. She **had **to hit something or she would explode. Well, not really. She couldn't explode. That was the problem. Finally, she couldn't take it any more. She would break the door apart.

She pulled back and charged up her hand as much as she felt she could. Throwing it as hard as she could, Danielle blasted the door. It was only afterward that she realized the door was probably a portal, and if she destroyed, there wouldn't be a whole just floating in the air. The door would probably vanish altogether. Thankfully, her ghost ray only caused a large hole to appear in the door. She fly through it, back into the ghost zone. Unfortunately, she still couldn't find anything to punch. She felt slightly better, but firing a ghost ray wasn't the same as throwing a good punch.

She glanced around her. She couldn't hear the sirens any more, but she also didn't see Danny. Her heart sank as she realized what that probably meant. She looked down at the bracelet on her arm. She felt her anger coming back again. Before she realized what she was doing, she charged up a ray and blasted the bracelet. She cried in pain as the ray hit her arm. It did succeed in destroying the bracelet, but her arm hurt horribly. She bit her lip and squinted. _It probably doesn't look __**that **__bad, right? _She slowly opened her eyes and checked her arm. The fabric of her glove and been burnt away in a circle pattern where the ray had hit. Her skin beneath was a bright red, but it didn't look badly burnt. She let out a soft sigh. She looked at her other hand. Danny had told her he had ice powers. Did that mean she did? Placing her hand on the burn, Danielle focused hard and soon felt a soothing coolness on it. She sighed and moved her hand. The skin looked a bit better now, but she didn't have time to deal with it now. Right now, she needed to find Danny.

She looked around her. She had never been in the Ghost Zone before. If Danny couldn't even find his way around here, she certainly couldn't. She growled and pushed her hand through her hair. _Why Danny? Why did you do that? _She felt tears start to slip out. She couldn't stand it. He gave himself up for her. It killed her to know that. She could handle herself. She was tough. She was fifteen. Sure, Danny was seventeen, but that was only two years older. Still, based on what Danny said about Walker...

She shook the thoughts from her head. She couldn't think about that. She would need to find someone to help her find her way to Walker's prison. Danny needed her.

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><p>Danny's eyes flickered open slowly. His gaze slid around the room, his mind barely able to process anything. He tried to shake the drowsiness from his head, but it only emphasized the headache he was starting to feel. He blinked a few times and cleared his vision. He was sitting in a dark cell, strapped to a chair in the middle of the floor. There was a single door in front of him, but beyond that, there was nothing. Even in his haze, it occurred to him to try and transform so he could just walk out. As he started to transform though, he felt a jolt surge through his body. He cried out, and the rings around his middle disappeared. He let out a sigh and drooped his head. He shook his head again and looked up as the door opened. He felt a shiver go up his spine as Walker entered the cell.<p>

Danny wasn't really afraid of Walker, but he was a bit frightened of what might happen to him in the jail. Walker hated him. He smiled at Danny, his book of rules in his hand. "Well, well. Look who's back."

Danny glared at him, "Get on with it, Walker. What 'rule' did I break this time?"

Walker chuckled, "Well, punk, there are quite a few, but, let's be honest," he slammed the book shut with one hand, "I don't need any of them to lock you up in here." Walker walked over and leaned in close, but instead of taunting Danny further, he snapped a shock collar around Danny's neck. Walker stood back up, "Now, you had better not cause a lot of trouble. 'Cause if you do," Walker pulled a remote out of his pocket and pressed a button.

Painful didn't even begin to describe what Danny felt. The surge ripped through his body. It felt like he was being torn apart, or being burnt to a crisp. It reminded him of being in the Ghost Portal. He tried to hold a cry of pain in, but he couldn't help it. He screamed. After a minute, the shock stopped. Danny lifted his head. It hurt even to breathe, but he managed to choke out, "Hey, I'm not a stress toy."

Walker grinned, "Still a smart-Alec?" He leaned down, face to face with Danny, "We'll fix that."

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><p><strong>Dun, dun, dun! I hope you liked the chapter. I'll try to get the next one out soon. If you have any suggestions, or requests for things you would like to see happen in the story, please tell me. I'd love to hear them. The same goes for constructive criticism. Please, please tell me the areas I'm weak in. Let me know if I need to improve, because otherwise (oblivious as I am) I probably won't improve. Thanks for reading.<strong>


	12. Not Allies, Not Enemies

**I'm sorry about the long wait (man, I seem to be apologizing for that a lot lately). I hope this chapter is worth the wait. We're going to be coming up to, what I hope, is some really exciting stuff soon! Thank you for taking the time to read this and review. Please continue to review and tell me what you think. Again, I love to get constructive criticism, so please please please if you have any, let me know. If you have questions or suggestions please post those as well. Enjoy!**

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><p>Danielle looked all around her. Her first thought was to return to the door they had entered earlier and ask for help from that ghost. Unfortunately, there were doors all around her, and for the life of her, she couldn't remember which one had been the door they went in. <em>Great. Now what are you supposed to do? It's a prison, for crying out loud! The chances of someone helping you are slim to none, at best.<em> She groaned and spun in a circle. She felt so helpless. She knew she should start checking behind each of the doors, but the enormous task before her made her want to do nothing more than curl up and cry.

The sound of a motor cut through the air, drawing Danielle's attention. She glanced around and spotted a short piece of road a distance off. _Might as well start there._ She flew over towards it. There weren't many ghosts around. The only ghosts on the road were a guy and a girl on a motorcycle. Danielle decided to take a chance and shouted out, "Hey!"

The girl on the bike glanced up at her, did a double-take, and whispered something in the guy's ear. He looked up at her and jerked the bike to a stop, staring up at her as if she couldn't possibly exist.

Danielle, now feeling incredibly awkward, landed next to them and cleared her throat, "Uh, hi. My names Dani Phantom."

"No way," the girl muttered. In a louder voice she continued, "Do you know Danny Phantom, from Amity Park?"

The guy turned to her, "Come on, Kitty. She just said her name was Danny."

"Yeah, but she's not a guy. It can't just be a coincidence; they look too much alike."

The guy looked back to her, "Well, if she does know him," he gripped the handlebars of his bike, "maybe we oughta keep going."

Danielle put her hand out, "No, wait. Please, I need help." She looked over at the girl, _he called her Kitty right,_ "I do know Danny Phantom. He's my cousin."

Kitty turned to the guy, "Come on, Johnny. She needs help. I thought you and Danny were getting along better. Do you really want him to find out we didn't help his cousin?"

Johnny muttered under his breath and rolled his eyes, but he said, "Fine. What is it you need, kid."

Danielle smiled faintly, "I need help finding Danny."

Johnny sighed, "We don't keep tabs on him at all times. We haven't seen him in a while. Besides," he waved his hands around, "he doesn't really hang out here very much."

Danielle shook her head, "No, I know where he is. I just need help finding it." They both gave her odd looks. She bit her lips and silently pleaded, _please don't freak out_, "He's, uh, he's in jail. Walker's jail."

Johnny's face hardened, and Kitty's face paled. She looked at Johnny, panic in her eyes. Johnny looked at her, back at Danielle, and sighed. Turning back to Kitty, he said, "You stay here. I'm gonna take her there. I'll be right back."

Kitty mouth dropped open, "Johnny! You can't be serious!"

Johnny sighed, "Look, Danny and I aren't close, but I wouldn't wish Walker's prison on my worst enemy." He reached up and stroked her check, "I wouldn't go in. I promise." He gave her a quick kiss, "I'll be right back."

Kitty nodded and slipped off the bike. She looked over at Danielle and pointed at her, "You, don't get him into trouble."

Danielle smiled at her, "Don't worry. I'll save all the trouble for myself." Kitty smiled at her. Johnny motioned for Danielle to get on the back of his bike. She rushed over and hopped on.

"Hold on," he muttered. She gripped the back of the bike. She was relieved that Johnny had agreed to help her, but he had also told Kitty he wouldn't go inside. She had expected as much, but that didn't mean she hoped for it. Johnny might get her to the prison, but she had absolutely no idea how she was going to get Danny out.

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><p>Danny groaned and did his best to stretch his muscles despite still being held in the chair. He had figured out that the chair was what was keeping him from transforming. He should have expected it. Walker wasn't an idiot. Danny had escaped last time by transforming. It was ridiculous to think Walker wouldn't have taken precautions to insure it didn't happen again.<p>

Danny moved his head around as much as he could, but despite his best efforts, he couldn't see anymore of the room than he had already. He pulled against the restraints for the millionth time. He had to get out of here. Sure, he didn't like it. But that was only part of it. He knew Danielle. After all, she was his clone. He knew, despite him telling her not to, she would come and try to break him out. So, he needed to break himself out first. He couldn't let her anywhere near Walker. He had a flashback of the time Sam had come with him to Walker's prison. He remembered Walker had been going to put the shock collar on her. He shuddered at the memory. He knew without a doubt that Walker would do the same or worse to Danielle.

His thoughts wandered to Sam. He felt tears start to build up, but he didn't care. _Why wasn't I more carefu__l?__ I could have prevented this. I shouldn't have used my ghostly wail. I should have known better. It's my own fault my parents found out. __And now, Danielle is going to end up in here too, because of me. __Everything is falling apart. _Danny felt tears begin to slip down his face. Instinctively, he reached up to brush them away, but he couldn't lift his hand from the armrest were it was chained. He grew angry. But not at Walker, at himself.

Danny shook his head. _Alright, get a grip. You're certainly not helping any one by complaining and whining. __And you definitely aren't going to give Walker the satisfaction of seeing you cry. _Danny took a few deep breaths to calm himself down. After he had his emotions back under control, he looked around the room, searching for any weak point. There weren't any. At least none that he could see. He did his best to try and look at the collar, but he couldn't see enough of it to find a way to get it off. He groaned. How was he supposed to keep Danielle away from Walker now? _Great plan, Fenton. Keep Danielle safe from Walker by getting captured by Walker, even though you know Danielle will try and save you. _He leaned his head back and sighed. At this point, it was useless to try and escape. All he would do was use up his energy, and that wasn't going to help him any. He would just have to wait for an opportunity, and be ready for it when it came.


	13. Going On Hiatus

First, this is not a chapter. Unfortunately, my muse for this story has decided to run off to Misty Island (one power cell reward for bringing it back). I have the entire story planned out, so it will definitely get finished. Don't worry. However, it will, for the time being, be on hiatus. I will still be writing other stories in the mean time, hopefully getting all my other ideas written out will give me time to work on this story. Thank you all for being such great readers and reviews. Y'all are so awesome, and I will do my best to get this story finished soon. My goal is to have it finished no later than the end of summer, ideally before summer starts. Please continue to follow the story. Thank you all for sticking with me through this. I hope to give you another story soon!


	14. Staying in the Shadows

**Hey y'all! I'm back! **

**The hiatus is over! Hurray! Through a series of events, I have managed to track down and get my muse back (and it didn't even cost me a power cell!). I am so psyched to be back and finishing this story. I will be doing my best to work straight through to the end. **

**Also, this time around we will have a publishing schedule! Yay! I will put out one chapter ever week on Fridays. Hopefully having a set schedule will benefit me and help the writing process not get off track. Also, since the chapters are on the shorter side in general, if I get far enough ahead on writing, some weeks I will post an bonus chapter on Tuesdays. That won't be often, and it may not happen at all, but we'll see.**

**Anyway, thank y'all so much for sticking with me. Since the beginning y'all have been amazing readers and reviewers. But you've been especially fantastic and understanding during the hiatus. I'm sorry it's taken longer than I wanted, but I hope the ending of the story will be worth it. Enjoy!**

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><p>As Danielle and Johnny headed toward Walker's prison, Danielle tried to formulate a plan. Unfortunately, with no information on the place, she couldn't really do anything but make guesses. Oh how she wished Johnny would come in with her. She looked up at him. She had thought several times about trying to have a conversation with him, but something about the look on his face told her that he didn't want to talk.<p>

"Alright, this is it." They had stopped outside what Danielle could clearly see was a prison. Danielle hoped off the bike and stared up at it. It seemed enormous, and probably was. Guards were everywhere. She gulped.

"Hey."

She turned back to Johnny, who was rubbing the back of his neck.

"Be careful. You ever been here before?"

Danielle shook her head. "This is actually my first time in the Ghost Zone," she admitted a bit sheepishly.

"Alright, well, your ghost abilities aren't going to do you much good. Turning invisible won't work."

"Uh, thanks."

Johnny looked up at the building, and for a minute it seemed like he was considering coming in with her, but he didn't. "Good luck."

"Thanks."

Johnny turned his bike around and took off.

Danielle turned back towards the building. She took a deep breath and slowly made her way to the building. She circled it and decided the right side wall was the best option. She leaned against it,and bit her lip. She was scared. She didn't want to be. She shouldn't be. After all, Danny hadn't seemed scared one bit, and he had a much better reason to be scared of this place than she did. She took a deep breath; she could do this, for Danny. But she wasn't just breaking Danny out of jail. Considering what he had told her about how Walker felt about him, he was probably in a high security area. She had considered getting herself arrested and **then **breaking him out of jail, but she knew that it was risky. Not to mention, Danny would be so mad at her if she did. After all, that was the whole reason he was in there at all.

She turned herself intangible and tried to pass through the wall, but she couldn't. Well, Johnny was right. Dang it. Now what?

She flew up high enough that she could just peek over the top of the wall. There were guards everywhere. She watched them move for a minute. Well, she would just have to jump the wall. She waited until the guards had passed and flew up over the wall. It surprised her that she was able to "jump" it. She would have thought there would be a shield or something. Then again, she didn't see any prisoners outside.

She landed and quickly hurried over to the wall of the building. The guards would be there any minute! She pressed against the wall, trying to pass through it. Angry, she punched the wall. It hurt, bad. She collapsed on the ground. She was still weak. Suddenly, she realized she had transformed. Panic surged through her. She turned to look back towards the guards. She backed up to the wall, but-

"Ah!" She fell backwards through the wall and landed on her back, now inside the building. She quickly sat up and stared at the wall, then down at herself. What the heck?! What had just happened? Danielle stood up and walked over to the other wall and touched it. Her hand started to pass through it. She quickly pulled it back and stared at it. Then she smiled. Awesome!

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><p>Danny lifted his head. Had he heard something, or was he just imagining it? He waited. Nothing happened. He sighed and laid his head back, closing his eyes. He was really started to get nervous. Walker hadn't come back for a while now. Why? Probably for the purpose of driving Danny nuts. Well, it was working. Danny was starting to go slightly insane being left alone with his thoughts for so long. The faces of his family and friends passed in front of him, each one more painful than the last one. He felt the tears starting to come back. He felt their accusing stares on him, demanding to know why he wouldn't come back. Just when he thought he was about to snap, something touched his arm. Danny jumped, and his eyes flew open. "Wha-"<p>

Danielle put a hand over Danny's mouth, "Shhh."

Danny looked at her and smiled. She was in her human form. She had figured it out. She took her hand off his mouth. She looked him up and down, "Wow, if I don't know better, I'd say you were a pretty dangerous criminal if they need to restrain you like this." She grabbed the collar, "What is this?"

"Oh, that? That is my own personal torture device, controlled by Walker. It's currently being used to see just how close Walker can get to killing me."

Danielle looked at Danny with a sympathetic look, "Don't worry, I'll get it off."

Danny shook his head, "No, first you need to unlock the chair. I can move with the collar on. We can deal with it later."

Danielle sighed, but complied. Looking over the chair, she discovered that it had regular key locks. Using skills she had picked up from living on the street, Danielle picked the lock.

Danny stood up and took a deep breath, "Alright, lets see how this works." Shutting his eyes and bracing himself for the pain, Danny tried to transform. He smiled when he realized it had worked. He motioned for Danielle to go first, "Lead the way."

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><p>Carefully they made their way through the prison. It appeared Danny's cell had not been monitored on the inside, as none of the guards seemed to have realized that their prisoner had escaped. However, because it had been so long since Walker had come to check on him, Danny was concerned that he might return soon. Once they realized Danny had escaped, it would be near impossible for them to get out. They managed to get all the way to the wall without a hitch. Danielle started to walk through it, but Danny grabbed her hand, "We can't walk through it. There's no ground on the other side, and I don't know what would happen if we stepped out into open air."<p>

Danielle shrugged and transformed, "That's fine. I came over the wall last time."

Danny transformed as well. However just as they reached the top of the wall, an alarm sounded. A green film came down from the top of the prison to the top of the wall. Danielle reached out and touched it. She received a harsh shock from it and jerked back her hand. She turned to Danny, despair in her eyes. They were trapped.

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><p><strong>Hurray! It felt so good to get back into the story with the characters. I'm really excited about where it's going. I hope y'all are still enjoying the story. Please let me know what y'all liked and what you think should be different. Please tell me what I need to work on. Thank you so much for reading!<strong>


	15. Imprisoned Freedom

**Hey y'all! It's Friday! I hope y'all are still enjoying the story. Thank you so much for the reviews y'all left on the last chapter. It really means a lot to me. Thank you. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter It's kind of a filler chapter in my opinion. There's not much action, but it was one I felt like I needed to do. I hope you enjoy it!**

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><p>"Did you really think you could escape that easily?" a voice taunted.<p>

Danny clinched his fists. Just as his mouth started to open to reply, the collar light up bright blue. Danny let out a blood-curdling scream.

Danielle jumped back in surprise, "Danny?!"

Danny dropped to his knees, panting. He dropped his head. Danielle looked up to see who she assumed to be Walker holding a remote and laughing. Her own fists clinched. She felt her energy building in her right hand, and she wasn't in the mood to hold it in. She raised her hand and threw all her energy into the blast. It slammed into Walker's chest, but even as he flew backwards, his guards came forward, guns raised. Danielle started to charge up more blasted, but Danny put a hand on her arm. She turned to look at him. She could tell by the look he gave her that he didn't want her to fight. _Why not Danny?_

"Listen to your friend," Walker said, rising from where he had been knocked to the ground. "You're clearly out matched and out gunned."

Danielle looked at Danny, looking for some sign that he was ready to let her fight. But Danny wasn't even looking at her. He was looking at something behind Walker, or at least that's where it looked like he was looking. Danielle tried to follow his sight line, but she couldn't see anything.

Danny stood up and raised his hands. He was still out of breath, but he managed to cough out, "Alright, Walker. We surrender."

Danielle's jaw dropped. "Danny!" she hissed at him.

Danny threw her a look and very quickly winked at her.

Danielle raised an eyebrow at him, but he had turned back towards Walker and his goons. Sighing, Danielle also put her hands up. "Yeah, we surrender," she muttered, rolling her eyes.

Danny nudged her in front of him. She started to take another step forward, when there was a load explosion. The second the guards looked away, Danny scooped up Danielle and flew into the air. Danielle started to warn Danny about the shield, but it was gone! They came down just on the other side of the wall. A smile grew on Danielle's face at the sight she saw.

"Come on. Get on!" Johnny said, already sitting on his bike.

Danny put Danielle on the back and climbed on behind her, "Uh, quick question. You think Shadow could get this off?" Danny pointed to the collar.

Johnny shrugged, "Guess we'll see." Johnny turned back towards the prison and shouted, "Shadow!" A black shadow flew over the prison wall and quickly leapt under the bike. As they started driving, Johnny said, "Shadow," and pointed to the collar around Danny's neck.

Danny shut his eyes, bracing him for an electric shock. Shadow flew out from under the bike and through the collar. As soon as he came out of it, it shorted out and snapped in half, allowing Danny to remove it. He grinned, "Thanks." Shadow flew back under the bike.

Danny turned the collar around in his hands before tossing it behind them.

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><p>Jazz was nervous. This test was supposed to help. She knew that. So why was she so freaked out? She gnawed on her lower lip. Had she made the right call? Was this really the right thing to do for Danny? She knew that the good probably outweighed the bad. Then again, she was studying psychology, not statistics. She paced around her room. <em>If Danny was here, he would tell me I was going to wear a hole in the carpet. <em>She chuckled halfheartedly.

Finally, she sat down on the bed and sighed. The seemingly everlasting tears reappeared in her eyes. She had stopped trying to keep them from pouring out. In fact, they had become so constant that she hardly noticed them any more.

She sighed, ranting her thoughts to the empty room. Why wouldn't they listen? Couldn't they see it? She knew that this was hard to take. She could understand that. What she couldn't understand was this denial and disbelief in her. Didn't they think she knew Danny better than that? She was his sister, for crying out loud! Sure, they were his parents, but Danny had gotten more distant from them. However, he and Jazz had grown closer. She had told them that. She had told them why she knew before them, how she had helped Danny. Didn't they realized that she would have figured out if it wasn't really Danny?

Jazz took a deep breath. She was getting on her soapbox, and there wasn't even anyone there to rant to. This test had better work. It was really a last ditch effort. On the one hand, it was practically irrefutable evidence that Danny Phantom was the same Danny Fenton that had always lived under their roof. On the other hand, this might push them into the exact opposite corner. It could cause them to give up on Danny completely. She hadn't talked with Sam and Tucker about this possibility, but she knew that Danny had considered it. Sam and Tucker assumed that Maddie and Jack would only have it out for Danny Phantom as long as they thought he wasn't really Danny. They held firmly to the belief that if they could just show them that Danny Phantom and Danny Fenton, their Danny Fenton, really were the same, Maddie and Jack would accept him again. But Jazz and Danny knew. There was the possibility that they would think that Danny was gone. Yes the DNA might match, but that didn't mean that Danny Phantom hadn't killed Danny and taken over his body. It was a dark theory, but it was a possibility, one Jazz had to consider. She wasn't sure what she would do if that's what happened.

She fell back on her bed and shut her eyes. How had things gone so wrong? Sure, they hadn't been perfect, but at least their family had been complete. They had their issues, but she knew they loved each other. It was destroying her to think that she had to question that. No one should ever have to question if their family loved them. And for Danny to have to do that at a point where it was vital, actual vital, that he didn't have to question it… She knew that that was what was really keeping Danny away. It wasn't just having to face his parents. It was having to question whether they loved him. It occurred to her that he might stay away, forever. If they never knew for certain, which they might not, he wouldn't come back. He wouldn't come back without knowing for certain.

Letting her final tears fall, Jazz let out a soft whisper, "Oh Danny, I can't even imagine what you're going through. But please, come back." Her sobs started to get louder, "I just want my brother back. I want to get woken up at 3 a.m. to help bandage you up. I want to have to wake you up at school because you didn't get to sleep at night. I want to come home and find you goofing off with Sam and Tucker instead of doing homework." She wasn't whispering anymore. In fact, she was almost shouting. "I need you Danny! I know you're scared and you're in danger, but I need you! I need you, Danny! Tucker needs you! Sam needs you! We all need you! Please Danny. Please," her voice started to drop off. She curled up around her pillow and hoarsely whispered, "Please Danny. Come home," before her sobs overcame her voice.

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><p><strong>Thank you for reading and following this story through its many ups and downs. If you'd like to, please leave a review and tell me where I need to improve my writing and what you liked about the story. Y'all are amazing. Thanks for reading.<strong>


	16. Worth the Risk?

**Hey guys! Sorry this chapter is up late (but hopefully not a dollar short :) I had an unexpected change in some of the smaller details of the plot (don't you hate it when characters pull that). I do think the story will be better for it, but that has delayed the writing of this chapter. Anyway, thank y'all for sticking with me. I hope you enjoy!**

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><p>Sam fidgeted in the booth as she glanced around the restaurant, looking for Jazz and Tucker. She spotted Tucker coming in a waved him over. He sat down opposite her. For a while, they both just sat there and stared at each other. Finally, Sam said, "So, have you heard anything from Danny?"<p>

Tucker shook his head, "No. It's been over a week, Sam." Tucker ducked his head, "I've kind of stopped looking."

Sam's eyebrows shot up, "What?!"

"Shhh," Tucker glanced nervously around the restaurant, hoping no one could overhear them. He turned back to Sam, a sad look on his face, "Look, it's not that I've given up on Danny, but he can make his own decision. If he decides to stay wherever he is, I won't be happy with it, but it's his decision. I'm not going to keep myself on edge worrying about it. I've done that enough."

Sam looked down at the table. Just then, Jazz walked in. She flopped down on Sam's side of the booth with a big sigh.

Sam looked up hopefully, "So, did they-" she stopped when Jazz shook her head.

Jazz sighed and leaned forward on the table, cradling her head in her hands, "I don't know what to do. They're practically living in the lab. I hardly see them. I asked them to run a DNA test, 'cause I thought that would help. But it should have been finished already." Tears started to slide down her face.

Sam glanced at Tucker and mouthed, "What do we do?" Tucker shrugged. Sam hesitantly put her hand on Jazz's shoulder.

After a minuted Jazz took a deep breath, sat up, and wiped her face. "Sorry," she said sheepishly.

"See," Tucker said, motioning to Jazz, "we can't keep doing this to ourselves. We are going to kill ourselves over this if we don't stop." Jazz stared at Tucker, not having heard the beginning of the discussion. Sam looked down. She knew he was right.

Tucker continued, "We have done everything we can for Danny. We've helped him when we could and done our best to push his parents in the right direction. But ultimately, this is up to Danny and his parents, not us. Danny's like my brother, but I'm not going to let myself fall apart over what he decides. If he comes back, I'll be there for him. If he stays, I hope I'll still get to see him. But until he decides," Tucker stood up from the bench and gave the girls a sad smile, "I'll see you around." He turned and left.

Jazz looked down at her lap. "I really need to get to work on my college stuff. I've really let it fall apart," she said absently, as if trying to convince herself as opposed to Sam.

Sam nodded. She stared off into space, not really seeing.

Jazz continued, "I've been thinking of getting an apartment that's closer to campus."

Sam nodded again.

Jazz stood up and did her best to smile, "Well, I guess I'll see you later." Sam didn't look up; she just nodded. "Alright. Bye," Jazz said, before leaving.

Sam sat in the booth for a long time. She knew Tucker was right. Still, she wasn't willing to just give up on Danny like that. The thought occurred to her that, since Danny hadn't called them or tried to contact them, he might be in the Ghost Zone. _And if he's in there, we'll never be able to see him, not as long Mr. and Mrs. Fenton are down there. _No. She wasn't going to give up that easily. She was Sam Manson. She was going to see her friend, and nothing was going to stop her.

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><p>After traveling long enough without any sign of being followed, Johnny stopped the bike. Danny and Danielle both got off. "Thanks for helping me," Danielle said with a smile.<p>

Johnny looked away and shrugged, "Yeah, well, whatever."

Danny grinned and held out his hand, "Thanks man."

Johnny glanced at Danny cautiously, but shook his hand, "Sure." Then he turned his bike around and took off.

Danielle turned to Danny, "Now what?"

Danny shrugged, "I'm not sure." He looked around. Johnny had dropped them off not too far from the Fenton Portal. It would be easy to head over there. While part of Danny missed his family and friends and was about ready to risk whatever might be waiting for him to see them again, part of him wasn't. Part of him kept reminding him of the risk. After all, even if they had rejected him, if he never went back he would never know that for certain. Then he could always hold onto the hope that they still loved him.

Danielle waved her hand in front of Danny's face, "Hey, what do you want to do?"

Danny blinked a few times, reminding himself that Danielle was still there, "Uh, I don't know."

"Do you know how to get to the Fenton Portal from here?"

"Uh," Danny rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. But…"

Danielle crossed her arms, "But what?"

Danny sighed and put his head in his hands. Just barely, he whispered, "I can't go back. I can't face it."

Danielle put her hand on Danny's shoulder, "What can't you face?"

"Them. What if they don't love me any more? What if they don't see me as Danny? I'm only seventeen. I don't want to be out on my own yet. I don't want to have to run from my family."

Danielle bit her lip. She wasn't sure what to say. "Well, if you don't go back, you'll never know what they decided. Sure, Sam, Tucker, and Jazz might be able to tell you what they think, but seeing you, seeing how you look and the was you act might have an effect."

"But what if I go back and they reject me?!" Danny practically shouted at her. "I- I can't face that." He put his head down and mumbled, "I can't live with that."

Danielle thought she heard him start to cry. She glanced around. She really didn't know what to do. A voice inside her said, "Come on. He needs you. You know what it feels like to be rejected. Don't tell him they won't reject him. He doesn't need that. He needs to know that if that does happen everything will be ok."

Taking a deep breath and hoping she could say this right, Danielle said, "Listen Danny. I know how you feel. I know what you're afraid of. That's what happened to me when I found out that Vlad didn't really care about me." She put her hand on his shoulder again, "But I found you. I know that if they reject you, it will hurt. But you have to remember that you aren't alone. You have Sam, Tucker, Jazz, and me. We aren't ever going to give up on you. Believe me, I want them to accept you, more than anything. But if they don't, you can count on me to be by your side through the whole thing." Danny looked up at her and she smiled, "We're family." She reached out and hugged him. Danny laid his head on her shoulder, and she felt his tears on her shoulder. She held onto her cousin, hoping and praying that everything would be fine. But no matter what the outcome was, she was never going to give up on him.

After a minute, she heard him take a breath. She let go of him, and he straightened up, wiping away the remaining tears. She looked at him, silently asking, _So? _

Danny looked off into the distance before looking back at Danielle. With a determined look on his face, he said, "Let's go home."


	17. Update!

Hey, I have a quick update for y'all. We have reached a point in the story where the next chapter has the potential to be pretty long. Sorry to disappoint y'all, but I don't think I'll be able to get the whole thing together for tomorrow. Therefore, next weeks chapter will be a lot longer, hopefully at least double the length of a regular chapter. I'm really sorry to make y'all wait, but I really want this part to be in one big long piece. On that note, please continue to review. I really appreciate it. Thanks.


	18. The Final Stand

**Sorry about the weird format. Not really sure what happened. We'll try this again and see if it works. Let me know if they're are still problems.**

**Here it is, the long awaited chapter. Thank y'all for being so understanding and letting me take two weeks for this one. I really wanted to get it just right. I hope you enjoy it. PS: This chapter is just about double the length of a regular chapter! Yay!**

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><p>Sam walked up the steps to the Fenton's house, doing her best to keep a scowl off her face. She rang the doorbell, hoping Mr. Fenton would answer it. Glancing at the driveway, she noticed Jazz's car was gone. Dang it. Jazz wouldn't be able to help her. The door swung open to reveal Mr. Fenton. However, instead of the chipper and energetic man he usually was, Mr. Fenton looked tired and worn out. His face was downcast as he said, "Hello Sam."<p>

Sam did her best to smile, "Hello Mr. Fenton. Where's your wife?"

Jack smiled sadly, "She and Jazz went to go look at apartments." He glanced at his watch, "They'll probably be back soon."

She would have to be quick then, "Well, I just wanted to stop by to see Jazz, and my mom asked me to drop this off for you." Sam held up the container she had been carrying. It was filled with fudge.

Mr. Fenton's face brightened slightly. In a rather tired but happy tone, he said, "Thank you, Sam. Would you like to come in and wait for Jazz?" He stepped to the side of the door and motioned inside.

Sam smiled and stepped inside, "Sure. If you don't mind, I'd like to wait in her room."

Mr. Fenton nodded, "Alright. I'll make sure she heads right up when they get back."

Sam thanked him and headed towards the stairs. She was already starting to feel guilty. He was being so nice to her. She pushed it down; she was here to help Danny. She couldn't get distracted. She paused at the bottom of the stairs and waited for a second. Good, Mr. Fenton was staying in the kitchen. Quietly, she slipped down the stairs to the lab. She didn't have much time. Glancing around, she tried to figure out what would open the Ghost Portal. Mr. and Mrs. Fenton were always changing things about it. Deciding she would just have to guess, she grabbed a remote off one of the tables. Hoping it was the right one, Sam shut her eyes and pushed the button.

She heard the doors to the portal slide open and only then realized that other ghosts might come out. Oh well. She walked over to it. Just as she was about to step inside, she saw him. Her eyes lit up, "Danny!"

Danny flew through the portal, "Sam!" He landed in front of her and wrapped her in a hug, "Oh my gosh, Sam. It's so good to see you again!"

Sam laughed, tears falling from her checks onto his shoulder, "We've all missed you so much."

Danny pulled away and scanned her face. "Everyone?" he whispered.

Sam's face fell. Why did she do that to him? She should have been more careful with what she said.

Before she could reply, Danny had looked away. She heard him hold back a sob. Glancing behind him, Sam noticed Danielle, "Hey."

"Hey," Danielle waved. They both stood there awkwardly, wanting to give Danny a moment.

Danny took a deep breath and wiped his face. Just as he opened his mouth, they all felt something slam into the house. A loud explosion echoed above them. They shared a look. Danny grabbed Sam and flew up through the ceiling with Danielle on his heels.

They came up outside the house. Danny placed Sam on the ground, but before he could get a good look around, another explosion greeted them. A voice shouted out, "Ah, Daniel. So good to see you again."

Danny peered through the clearing smoke. Floating up in the sky, he spotted Plasmius. Danny felt his anger pulse through him. Charging up a blast, he flung it at Vlad and flew towards him. "What are you doing here?" he shouted.

Vlad laughed, "Well, my boy. You destroyed my Ghost Portal. I figured I'd return the favor." He shot a blast at Danny, which he just barely dodged, "But then I ran into your father. And I thought, 'Why not destroy Jack Fenton instead?'!" He shot another beam at Danny.

This time, it hit him square in the chest, knocking him to the ground.

"Danny!" Danielle and Sam ran up to him.

Danny coughed and looked up at Sam, "Go get Tucker."

"Why?" Sam demanded.

Danny shrugged, "We might need him."

Sam rolled her eyes, but hurried off to find Tucker.

Danielle helped Danny to his feet, "What should I do?"

"Go find my dad. Vlad said he came to kill him, and I haven't seen him."

Danielle nodded and took off towards the house.

Danny glared up at Vlad and shouted, "That the best you got?"

* * *

><p>"What did you think of the last one?" Maddie asked.<p>

Jazz shrugged, "It was alright, I guess. I really-" she stopped short as they came around the corner to their street. She could see rising smoke and what she assumed was a ghost attacking their house. Chucks of the buildings around theirs they on the ground. She unbuckled and threw the car door open, not even bothering to put it in park.

"Jazz!" Maddie shouted, but Jazz ignored her. She took off towards the house. Just as she got close, a blast hit one of the neighboring building, knocking debris onto the ground blocking her path. Jazz looked up into the sky. A smile broke onto her face when she spotted her brother. "Danny!" she screamed. Not willing to be deterred, she started to climb over the debris. However, a hand reached out and grabbed her. Jazz spun around.

Maddie stared into her face, "Jasmine Fenton, what do you think you're doing?"

Jazz shook her arm, unable to free herself from her mother's grip, "That's Danny fighting up there." She pointed at the sky, "He needs us. I don't care what you and Dad think. That's my baby brother up there and I am going to help him no matter what you say." Jazz shook her arm free and hurried up the rubble. A moment later, she could hear someone climbing behind. The tiniest grin slipped across her face. Maybe things would turned out okay after all.

* * *

><p>Sam ran up to the door and started to pound on it, "Tucker!" she practically screamed.<p>

The door opened, "What Sam?"

Sam grabbed Tucker's arm and dragged him down the street with her, "Come on!"

"What's going on?" Tucker protested. "And why didn't you just call me?"

"My phone's dead, but that's not important."

"Then what is? I'm not going another-"

Sam spun around, "Danny's back."

Without another word, they both took off down the street."

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><p>Danielle flew all through the house, shouting herself hoarse, "Mr. Fenton?! Jack?! Hello?!"<p>

She mopped her brow. Well, he didn't appear to be in the house. She hurried back outside. Looking around, she spotted a splotch of orange under some of the fallen rubble. She started to make her way towards it, but was blocked by a plasma blast. Jumping back, she glared into the sky, returning her own blast, but Vlad was too occupied with Danny to notice. Shaking her head, she continued to make her way to Mr. Fenton. Suddenly, she heard Danny shout, "Danielle! Look out!"

She turned around and was hit square on with an energy beam. She shrieked in pain, but it quickly subsided. However, she realized she had been changed back to her human form. She tried to transform but was unable to. Oh well. She would have to make do without ghost powers.

She made her way to Mr. Fenton and gently shook his shoulder. He groaned and opened his eyes. She smiled. Good. He was alive. "Mr. Fenton," she said gently.

He looked up at her, "Who are you?"

She smiled, "My name's Danielle. I'd tell you more, but right now we've got to get you out from under here."

Mr. Fenton nodded, "I think if you could get this beam off me, I would be able to wriggle out." He motioned to a large beam that was laying onto of him.

Danielle nodded. Putting her back against, she pushed as hard as she could, but it wouldn't budge. Pausing to take a breath, she looked over to see how Danny was doing and spotting Jazz and Mrs. Fenton coming towards them. She waved for them to hurry over. As soon as they were close, she explained what they needed to do. They counted to three and pushed on the beam. Though it did move slightly, it still wouldn't lift enough for Mr. Fenton to get out from under it.

"Danielle!" Sam and Tucker ran up to the group. "What happened?" Sam demanded.

Danielle pointed to the beam and panted, "We, need to, get this, off, Mr., Fenton."

Sam nodded, and she and Tucker each took a position with the rest of them. Once again, they counted to three. This time, they were able to lift the beam high enough that Mr. Fenton was able to slide out from under it.

Maddie rushed to her husband to make sure he was okay.

Tucker glanced at them, "Are they…"

Jazz shook her head, "I don't think so. Mom did follow me over here but-"

"Is he doing what I think he's doing?" Tucker interrupted, pointing up at the sky.

* * *

><p>Danny was worn out, but Vlad was persistent. Standing on the ground, Danny knew he was almost out of energy. He had done his best to keep Vlad's attacks away from his Dad and Danielle, but that one shot that was supposed to hit him and short out his powers had hit Danielle. Looking around, noticed all of them, Jazz, Sam, Tucker, Danielle, his mom and dad, standing not far from the Fenton RV. Well, kind of. It was on the other side of their house, but it wouldn't take long for them to get to it. If he could knock out Vlad for just long enough, they might be able to get inside it. Then they would be safe. He turned back to Vlad, who had landed on the ground not far from him.<p>

"Tired, Daniel?" he taunted.

Danny shook his head, "Not quite." Taking a deep breath, Danny let out his ghostly wail. Vlad was taken off guard and was knocked back onto the ground. Danny collapsed to his knees, transforming back. Looking up at Vlad, he discovered that it had not done as much damage as he had hoped. Vlad was still in his ghost form and was already back on his feet.

Laughing, he said, "You underestimate me, Daniel." He pulled a small device on a chain from his pocket, "Recognize this?" He swung it back and forth. Danny did recognize it. It was the remote for the RV. "I picked this up on my last visit to your parent's lab." Danny stumbled to his feet. Vlad lifted the remote, "You'll have to chose, Daniel. Catch me, or save your father." Vlad pointed the remote at the RV and pressed a button. The on the RV lifted up and aimed towards his dad. Vlad dropped the remote in his pocket and flew into the sky, "Firing in ten, nine, eight, seven…" he shouted back as he flew off.

Danny turned in horror to see the guns pointed at his family. He was an equal distance between the RV and his family. He didn't have the time or energy to reach either one. But if he hurried…

Running as fast as he could, Danny charged straight forward to the space between his family and the RV, counting off the seconds in his head. Four, three, two. Just as it fired, Danny stopped in between the gun and it's target. Mustering up his remaining strength, Danny managed to transform. He flew up, and let the beam hit him in the chest.

He dropped to the ground, a scream escaping his lips. He knew it was bad. He felt like his body was on fire; like he was melting. Maybe he was. As he laid on the ground, he wondered if it had made a difference that he had taken the hit in his ghost form. While his ghost form was more resilient, that blast was probably meant to kill a ghost. Still, maybe, just maybe, he had a chance. He groaned. Who was he kidding. He was a goner. But it didn't matter. He had saved them.

He could hear muffled screams and cries. He managed to pry his eyes open slightly. He was able to barely make out the blurry and shadowy figures of his family and Sam, Danielle, and Tucker. He did his best to smile at them; to reassure them. But he couldn't hold his eyes open any longer. He gave in, let his eyes slide shut, and allowed the blackness consume him.

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><p><strong>I hope y'all enjoyed the chapter. I promise that the next one will be on time. Sorry for the big cliffhanger, but I just love it! Please leave a review and tell me what you think. Again, sorry for the weird upload. <strong>


	19. Epilouge

**Hey guys! Sorry it's kind of late on Friday, but here it is. I hate to break it to you, but this is, as the title says, the last chapter. :( I hope y'all have enjoyed reading this story as much as I've enjoyed writing it. I hope this is a satisfying conclusion. I tried to wrap up all the loose ends without having to use a lot of awkward character dialogue. Anyway, please let me know if you still have any questions. Thank y'all so much for being such loyal readers and sticking with this story through its inconsistent early chapters and its long hiatus. Y'all have been so amazing! Thank you.**

* * *

><p>He was floating, or flying. It was a weird sort of in-between state. Not quite floating, not quite flying. Drifting maybe? It didn't matter any how. Regardless of what he called it, he would continue to do it. He always did. He always floated or drifted. Moving along with the flow of, of… Well, what was it? Ectoplasm? Mist? Something else? Again, it didn't matter. He would still follow it as it flowed and swirled and swayed. It was a motion, a rhythm. And there was nothing beyond it. At least, not that he could see. It was a never ending chasm of the greenness. And he was in it. No, not in it, a part of it. It was him, and he was it. But sometimes, something would disrupt it. The smooth flow of it, would be changed. He would hear something, a voice, a sound, a sob. But then it was gone; no more. Sometimes, he would see something. Not a clear image, more of a color change. A shape formed in the pattern of the green stuff. But again, it would fade away almost as soon as he saw it.<p>

It was strange being apart of the green stuff, but he didn't know why. Hadn't he always been apart of it? Something told him the answer was no. That there had been something beyond the green, something outside it. He had been outside it. But it didn't matter now, did it? Up to that point it hadn't. Then, something changed. He felt. He hadn't felt anything before; he had just existed. But now, he felt. He felt separate from the green stuff. He was his own entity. Then, the green began to fade. It faded into different colors. The swirls formed shapes around him. He could hear a voice. He couldn't understand it, but he could hear it, clearly.

He strained his eyes, trying to make the swirls clear up. They began to, slowly. Too slowly for his taste. Finally though, he could see. He made out the image of a girl sitting to his left. He focused his attention on her and realized the voice was coming from her. As his vision cleared, so did her words.

"Come on, Danny. Please."

Danny. That was a name, his name. Concentrating hard, he tried to answer her. But he couldn't seem to move his mouth. He couldn't move anything. He realized that his eyes were mostly closed. He was only seeing a small, blurry image. He tried to open his eyes wider, but before he could, the girl got up and left the room.

He allowed his eyes to shut and did his best to take a deep breath. It felt weird, but good. He took a moment to muster his strength and tried again to open his eyes. This time, he was able to open them all the way. Almost immediately, he shut them. It was so bright! This time, he opened them slower, allowing them to adjust. Once they were open, he looked around the room. He was laying on a bed in a room her didn't recognize. He felt himself start to panic, but forced himself to calm down. He focused on his memories. Almost instantly, like a door being flung open, he remembered what had happened. Vlad. The battle. Taking the blast head on.

He looked down at his body. He was in his human form. Moving slightly, he could feel a thick bandage wrapped around his middle. Stupidly, he tried to sit up. Regretting it instantly, he slid back onto the bed, feeling nauseous. He shut his eyes and breathed deeply. The feeling died away, and he opened his eyes again. He needed to figure out where he was. This room, it was wrong. He felt a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. Was he hiding? Were his parents still trying to find him?

Just then the door opened again, and Jazz appeared. Her eyes fell on Danny, and her face lit up. "Danny!" she shrieked and rushed over to him. She wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tight.

"Uh, Jazz!?" Danny gasped, his torso and stomach screaming in protest.

"Right. Sorry." Jazz let go of Danny and helped him lie back down. "It's just, well. I'm glad to see you awake."

"How long have I been out?" Danny asked anxiously.

Jazz sighed, "A month." Danny's eyes widened. Jazz wrapped her arms around herself, "Honestly, we weren't sure you were going to wake up."

Danny's head drooped, "Sorry."

Jazz reached over and grabbed his hand, "For what? For saving our lives?"

Danny blushed and looked away, "It was nothing."

Jazz laughed, "Yeah right. Tell that to mom-"

Danny's head snapped around, and he gripped Jazz's hand, "Mom?"

A smile spread on Jazz's face, "Yeah. They've been here the whole time. They're in the kitchen if you want me to get them." She started to stand up, but Danny shook his head.

"Not yet." Jazz nodded and sat down. "So, what changed? Why did they…" he trailed off.

Jazz shrugged, "I'm not sure. I guess, seeing you the way you were and what you did for us was really what changed their minds. After Vlad left, they helped us get you inside the house. Well, what was left." She pretended to give Danny a stern look, "You and Vlad did a number on it."

"Hey, that was all Vlad," Danny interjected.

"Whatever," Jazz smiled, "Anyway, I got this apartment, and we moved you over here since the house was in such bad shape. Dad's been working on getting it fixed up, and we managed to convince Mom that she was the most qualified to help you since she designed the gun that hit you." She gave him a meaningful look, "I know they were wrong, but you should know that it was really hard on them to see you like this and have to make that decision. If it weren't for them…" she didn't finish.

Danny nodded, "Thanks Jazz. For everything."

She smiled, "It wasn't just me. Sam and Tucker helped a lot. So did Danielle. Actually, she probably deserves more credit. She played a big part in changing Mom and Dad's minds about you."

"Where is she?" Danny asked, hoping she hadn't taken off.

"I think she and Sam went to go see how they were doing on the house while Dad came over and took a break."

Danny nodded again, "Alright. Can I see Mom and Dad now?"

Jazz smiled and went out of the room.

Danny shut his eyes and prepared himself. He knew it would be weird. It had been a while since he had seen them. Even though he trusted Jazz that they had accepted him, he still felt a bit scared. He heard the door creak and opened his eyes. His parents stood awkwardly in the doorway staring at him. He smiled, "Hey."

Maddie's eyes filled with tears. She came over to the bed and gingerly wrapped her arms around Danny, "We are so sorry, sweetheart."

Danny wrapped his arms around her, ignoring the slight pain, "It's okay, Mom."

She straightened up and shook her head, "No. It's not. I can't imagine what you've been through because of us. I hope you can forgive us."

Danny smiled, "Of course I can."

Maddie smiled, "Thank you." Then her eyebrows went up as if she had just remembered something, "Oh, you must be starving. I'll go get you something to eat." She turned and hurried out of the room before Danny could tell her he wasn't really interested in eating right now.

Jack came over and sat by the bed, staring at his hands. Finally he said, "I hope you're feeling better. We couldn't take you to a hospital, so…" He trailed off.

"I'm feel pretty fantastic all things considered," Danny joked darkly.

Jack rubbed the back of his neck, "I really am sorry, Danny. It's just-"

Danny cut him off, "It's fine, Dad. I understand. It's a pretty big bomb to drop on anyone, especially you guys."

Jack looked up and smiled at him, "It's good to have you home, Danny-boy."

Danny smiled, "It's good to be home, Dad."


End file.
